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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29182815">Eliott Lamoth and The Cursed Ice</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazyFrogHufflepuff/pseuds/LazyFrogHufflepuff'>LazyFrogHufflepuff</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Eliott Lamoth [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Being a legilimens is not cool, Bill is a good brother, Family, Family Drama, Found Family, Friendship, Hogwarts Second Year, Legilimency, Magic, Merula still annoying, Mistery, Orion is a good brother, Quidditch, Quidditch friends, hufflepuff quidditch team - freeform, these kids need a rest</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:27:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>26,729</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29182815</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazyFrogHufflepuff/pseuds/LazyFrogHufflepuff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In her first year, Eliott Lamoth came very close to finding the first Cursed Vault.</p><p>After a long summer, she is eager to begin her second year of studies at Hogwarts, to reunite with her friends and to unravel the mystery behind her brother's disappearance.</p><p>However, strange things start to happen even before classes start and the curse that has threatened Hogwarts for years becomes stronger and more dangerous.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ben Cooper &amp; Rowan Khanna, Ben Copper &amp; Player Character (Hogwarts Mystery), Rowan Khanna &amp; Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Eliott Lamoth [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2142486</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Summer Vacation and Birthday parties</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Eliott Lamoth is back!  </p><p>The second year is still as short as the first year, but I will try to include some things and not mess up so much. And that will be a little difficult because I will have to mix the Quidditch quests, the game's history and the small changes that I created in the last book.  But I will do my best!</p><p>Thank you, everyone who is still reading!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The summer of that year, as expected, passed very slowly and Eliott Lamoth could not wait to return to Hogwarts.</p><p>Not that she was bored, she had a lot of tasks to do, a lot of essays and assignments passed on by teachers. But she hated being trapped inside Lamoth Manor.</p><p>The start of the vacation was not easy. In the very first week, Eliott found herself wandering aimlessly inside the mansion with her frog, Naveen, trying to distract herself. She spent most of her time in the forest, playing with gnomes, doing her homework, taking care of Petrus' sheep and flowers. Her mother almost completely ignored her presence and did nothing but tease her sometimes. And fortunately, they rarely saw each other and avoided each other as much as possible.</p><p>Petrus, on the other hand, seemed determined to get close to his daughter and spend more time with her. In the early summer, he tried to strike up a few conversations when they sat at the kitchen table, but they always ended in an awkward silence. Eliott appreciated her father's effort, but she really preferred silence.</p><p>Silence was never a problem for both of them. It was always comfortable. The two often sat in the garden or on a tree in the forest and took care of plants and animals without speaking. Eliott hoped things would continue this way, but she knew that her father was nervous. Even though Dumbledore hadn't told him about her little excursion to the secret room, it was as if he knew something was wrong.</p><p>Eliott decided to enjoy the time they spent together and that her father was not upset that she broke the rules. So, after the first week at home, she was able to muster up the courage to ask her parents to have a broom, as she would make the audition for the Quidditch team when classes returned.</p><p>Asterin's reaction was as Eliott expected. She laughed out loud, saying how small, weak and too slow her daughter was to do anything that didn't involve magical creatures.</p><p>Eliott was small and had a delicate face and a look so harmless that it made most people think she could break at any moment. But she was so determined, after spending months listening to her friends encourage her, that she decided not to let her mother's cruelty discourage her and insisted on the matter.</p><p>Petrus was very excited about the idea of his daughter being a Chaser (although he didn't show and just smiling peacefully at her) and quickly dragged her into the basement and gave her his old Shooting Star.</p><p>Then, every day, the two went to the forest and went around the field, threw balls up and down and the legilimens did dangerous maneuvers that her father and Damian taught. But the training soon became a little boring. Her father could be quite patient, but as a former Slytherin captain and Beater, he was very strict and kept correcting the girl's movements.</p><p>And when she wasn't training, studying or in the forest, Eliott wrote letters to her friends. The Khanna family invited her to visit the farm a few times, so Eliott saw more Rowan than Ben. The shy boy was more difficult to talk to, since he didn't have an owl and Eliott couldn't communicate with him in the Muggle way. But they sent news about their families from time to time, in addition to exchanging some of the information they discovered about the Cursed Vaults.</p><p>In the third week of June, Rowan had sent her a letter after a quick trip to her grandmother's house.</p><p>
  <em>"Dear Eliott,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I found an old rune book in my grandma's stuff and I think I found out more about the runes we found in the ice room. It is quite old and hardly anyone remembers them, but they were used by wizards of the Middle Ages, including Merlin himself and the founders of Hogwarts. My grandmother is helping me to study, but she is a little suspicious. But I don't think she suspects that I'm helping you with the Vaults. So, everything is fine.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I also discovered that, since the founding of Hogwarts, there were more than a hundred stairs in the castle, but some of them have disappeared. Is not strange? Same as your vision. Perhaps you have seen one of these stairs. Again, I didn't find many things, as it is difficult to find any information, as they have disappeared. The structure of Hogwarts has changed a lot since its foundation and with so many wars, many rooms have been added and others have been destroyed.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And I know it's hard for you to talk about your brother, but Damian doesn't help much with the investigation. He knows as much as we do, even though he promised to help us. So I think it would be better if you looked for information inside your house  You said that Jacob locked himself in his room during the summer. Could you go in and look for a clue?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Love, Rowan "</em>
</p><p>Eliott tried not to look bad after reading the letter, but thinking about going into her brother's room made her sick. After he disappeared, Asterin was so ashamed of expulsion that she took most of his pictures and locked it in the basement.</p><p>In Jacob's last years at Hogwarts, he spent a lot of time in the room, or hiding from Eliott in the forest, as she insisted, in her childlike innocence, on trying to cheer him up and play with him. Perhaps he had left something behind, he did not return home that day, his trunk was handed over to Petrus by the school staff and locked inside the room.</p><p>The only key to the room was in Asterin's office and the legilimens did not have the courage to enter that place. Even Jacob himself didn't like his room, in fact, he hated the whole house. The Mansion was always so dark, and it looked like it wanted to crush him and Eliott. Then, to escape the house, they created their own sanctuaries.</p><p>In addition to the small treehouse near the lake, where they sat to watch the magical creatures, they arranged the attic and turned it into a small library. And after Jacob disappeared, Eliott moved her bed and closet to that room.</p><p>But Jacob's room was not a good place. He was always there when he had some secret that even Eliott could not know, and whenever she approached that place, she felt sick. It was as if her brother's fear and concern had stayed there even when he left.</p><p>Eliott tried not to think about Rowan's letter after that, concentrating on training, she could answer later. She could look for more clues later. She still had two full months and could always ask Damian for more information.</p><p>Another week passed, and Eliot continued to ignore Rowan's letters and requests to enter the room. At least Ben, Penny, Tonks and Chiara talked about other things. About their travels, their families, their brothers and sisters, the Quidditch games and Muggle things that she didn't understand but was happy to hear. She knew that Rowan was getting impatient, but she continued to repeat to herself that she still had time, as July had just begun.</p><p>However, it wouldn't be a surprise if Khanna lost her temper completely and asked Damian to try to convince Eliott. He was the only other person, besides her and Ben, that the legilimens trusted and would listen to. Maybe because he was older, maybe because she felt close to him.</p><p>Over time, Eliott greatly improved her skills on the broom. During Madam Hooch's flying lessons, she was not allowed to do dangerous maneuvers, but her father didn't mind teaching her how to surf or take a complete turn upside down. He would always be there to catch her if she fell or to take care of her injuries. In addition to flying lessons, Eliott was very busy with the garden and the sheep.</p><p>When Petrus was working, she took care of his precious sheep, walked with them in the field and cut their wool. It was a fun task for the young Lamoth, but useless in her mother's eyes, which she soon began to complain about. She saw no use in sheep's wool, so Petrus always gave it to Muggle farmers who lived near Lamoth Mansion. None of them knew why the rich man gave wool away, but none of them complained, as long as he accepted something in return.</p><p>That day, Eliott did this job and received a basket of jam and pie. She was on her way home when she saw a brown owl flying over the house, but she didn't see the window and ended up hitting the glass. Eliott quickly held her before her fell to the ground, ignoring Asterin's screams inside the house, complaining about the noise and how many animals there were.</p><p>The Legilimens recognized the owl, the same one that delivered Damian's letters from Brazil. She was tired and a little wet, the trip was very long and Damian was visiting Castelobruxo, which was in the middle of the Amazon Forest, one of the most dangerous magical places in the world.</p><p>- Hm... Y-You must s-suffer a lot to g-get here ... - she murmured and the owl blinked.</p><p>Eliott took her inside, took some food and water and gave it to the owl. While the bird ate, she took care of the wound on her wing and let her sleep in her room until she recovered. She sat at the table and took the letter and the small package that Damian had sent. It was sealed with magic and she smiled when she saw a well-preserved bag of seeds.</p><p>Damian's letters always cheered her up, as he didn't talk about dangerous things, just about his trip to Brazil with his parents and his new job as a trainee Herbologist. The energetic boy always made her happy, she kept talking about him to her father, and she might not admit it, but he was a big brother figure. Something like Jacob could have been. She didn't like to think that he hadn't been because it would be a lie, he always took care of her, but there was always something between the two that kept them in different worlds.</p><p>While she could barely have a serious conversation with her brother, she could talk to Damian about simplest thing and he wouldn't complain. She felt bad about being closer to the prefect she met a year ago than her own brother.</p><p>But as always, she was excited to hear more from the older boy and barely contained herself when she opened the letter.</p><p>
  <em>"Dear Eliott,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Happy Birthday! I know your birthday is a few days away, but I would like to send your gift right away, as I know that owls are slow to arrive in England. Pleade, apologize to my owl, Mindy, for me. She is brave to accept this trip, but it is not easy to cross the Amazon rainforest and the Ocean alone.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I hope you enjoy your special day, and that my letter arrives on time, I would hate to miss your birthday. I'm sending you some seeds from a native plant in Brazil. I know you like animals better, but I thought you would like the gift. A professor at Castelobruxo told me about this plant. It's called Pé Doce, or Sweet Foot. He said that when it blooms, it will bear delicious fruit! And some say that when you eat, you taste your favorite food. Although I like the idea, I think it is unlikely.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Anyway, I hope you're having a great summer. How are your Quidditch training? I know you have talent, so I'm rooting for you, I know you're going to get the job. And Rowan too. If you get the spot (and you will!) I promise to go back to England to see your first game.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>My trip to Brazil is almost over, maybe I will come home this year, but I think I will stay here with my parents for a while longer. Brazil is an interesting place, very beautiful and cheerful, and I love to study the plants here. Animals are dangerous and scary, so I think you would like it. I hope that one day you can come here.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You asked me to send you any news about Jacob or the Cursed Vaults. So I feel silly to say that I don't know much. I've been researching, but it seems that this is a little-known story, most people only learned about them years ago. When Jacob was expelled. And nobody here in Brazil has heard of these vaults. But I remembered a few things. Jacob was not so fond of animals, but I saw him researching dangerous creatures a few times. Especially dragons.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I really hope this is no big deal. I don't want you to face a dragon in the next vault or anything like that. But if you go, send me a letter and I swear I will apparate there immediately. And I heard that Dumbledore is traveling, so I ask you to watch out for the evil ice. Avoid going in that corridor if you can.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Well, enjoy your birthday and your year at Hogwarts. Have fun and, for Merlin's sake, be more careful. I don't want to receive a dozen letters from Jane complaining that you missed five points in potions class. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Damian"</em>
</p><p>Eliott tried to smile, not quite sure what to feel after reading the letter. She looked at the seeds she received and sighed, trying to push the sickness away. Naveen croaked, drawing her attention to the end of the letter.</p><p>
  <em>"PS: Rowan has been sending me a lot of letters, asking me to talk to you. They all arrived yesterday and I spent the night reading. (Just kidding). I know it's hard for you to talk about your brother, and it must be more hard to get close to his stuff. I understand. But if you want to find out more about the vaults and his research, you should at least take a look at his trunk. But if you don't want to, okay, we have other ways to find  more leads. I can talk to Mallory, but I don't know if she'll want to tell me."</em>
</p><p>Again, Eliott felt bad. She hoped she could postpone her trip to Jacob's room. She hoped that Damian's letter would cheer her up. She tried to focus on the good things, the good news he sent, but the last words made her sick.</p><p>She shook her head when she realized she was thinking too much about the vaults. It seemed impossible not to think about her brother, but everything in her life directed her towards him or her family's reputation. She was frustrated and kept the letter from Damian, trying to block those bad feelings. Deciding to write a reply later, she took her father's Shooting Star and left to train.</p><p>***********<br/>
On July 17th, Eliott turned twelve. After years of celebrating her birthday alone, she lost interest. But now she was really excited and upon waking up, she found five owls waiting for her.</p><p>Chiara, Penny and Tonks sent her some candies, bracelets and Chiara was kind enough to give her a signed poster of the Holyhead Harpies. Petrus gave her some fabrics and sewing threads, and she spent the rest of the week making gloves and scarves for her friends. On the 29th, Ben also turned twelve and the trio decided to go to Diagon Alley that day to celebrate his and Eliott's birthday and buy their materials.</p><p>Eliott didn't mind waiting, she was more excited to see her friends. When the day came she took her letter with her list of materials and her bag, took Naveen in her arms and followed Petrus and Amon through the fireplace, appearing inside the Leaky Cauldron. Eliott immediately noticed that the bar was silent and everyone was looking at them in amazement and suspicion.</p><p>Petrus did not care and went to the back of the bar, being followed by his daughter's small figure. He tapped his wand on the bricks on the wall and the entrance to Diagon Alley appeared. They sighed with relief, happy with the lively energy of the place.</p><p>It took a while, but soon Petrus, being very tall, spotted a small, shrunken boy who fit Ben's features.  Eliott had described him very well in the many times she spoke about her friends. He remains very thin and pale and because he is always hunched over, he seemed to be smaller than he really was. His blond hair was perfectly styled, as always, and he wore comfortable bundles, which set him apart from the rest of the crowd of wizards in their colorful, long clothes.</p><p>The Lamoths, the crow and the frog approached and the boy's face lit up and he ran towards them, hugging Eliott tightly.</p><p>- I missed you, Eliott. A-And happy late b-birthday! - he laughed and walked away, much to Eliott's dismay. He handed her a package. - It's the continuation of that book I gave you for Christmas. The one with the ring of evil, the dwarves and the elves.</p><p>- Hm. T-Thank you, Ben. Hm... H-Happy birthday, t-too... - she handed him a pair of very beautiful dragon gloves. He smiled and put them on, and then noticed that they were not alone and turned to face Petrus. He immediately jumped away and Eliott felt her father feel bad for being so scary. - Hm ... Ben, t-this is my f-father... Petrus ...</p><p>Ben straightened up quickly and extended his hand politely. Petrus was a little embarrassed, as he always was when he needed to interact with anyone. And Ben was so small compared to him, just like Eliott, but he looked ten times more scared and shy.</p><p>- I-It's a p-pleasure, sir ...</p><p>- Likewise. Hm... - he took an uncomfortable step back, thinking of something to say and calm him down. - Hm ... Eliott always talks about you. She said that you is the best of the class in Charms.</p><p>Ben blushed furiously and stammered. Amon pecked his owner, scolding him for scaring the boy. Then he shouted the name "Khanna" out loud and a figure crashed into Ben and Eliott, hugging them tightly and speaking so fast that no one could understand. Petrus moved further away, holding Naveen in his hand.</p><p>-... I missed you so much! You won't believe it! I'm sorry for not sending any gifts on your birthday, Ellie! Happy birthday to you both! - Rowan said squeezing her friends.</p><p>She was still tall and shiny, and her hair was tied in two beautiful, flowery braids. The only thing that was different about her were the glasses, the old and broken frames had been replaced by a new black and white one.</p><p>Ben asked her to let them go, but Eliott returned it. After a long time without physical contact, she was more than happy to hug her friends. She spent years without hugging anyone and when she arrived at Hogwarts, she got used to the affection of her friends.</p><p>Now, she squeezed her friends tightly, feeling warm. As much as she enjoyed the silence, she loved being able to hear Ben and Rowan speak. It was torture to have to endure the emptiness of Lamoth Mansion, so she was more than happy to hear from her Rowan chattering and Ben mumbling shyly to her.</p><p>Rowan released them with a big smile, giving them some gifts, and started talking to Petrus, who answered in the best way he could. She spoke too quickly for him to follow.</p><p>Then she turned to her friends and started giving her talk. Petrus and Amon stayed behind.</p><p>- ... This year, we can get Ollivander and Madam Malkin off the list. We just need our books and ingredients... - she continued talking, watching Ben unwrap a chic feather and Eliott admiring her new star brooch.</p><p>Petrus patted his daughter on the head, handing her a bag of coins and a purse with an undetectable spell of extension. She nodded silently, making Ben and Rowan look strange at the two Lamoths, who communicated without speaking. Petrus left after that, leaving the children alone to have fun.</p><p>The three entered Flourish and Blotts first and were met by a dozen looks, as expected, all directed at Eliott. Rowan quickly grimaced for all the adults and took her friends to the shelves, reminding them of all the books they needed to buy.</p><p>Eliott soon calmed down. Now that she had friends around, she didn't need to think about anything else. After they bought all the books, Ben and Eliott had to drag Rowan out of the store and stop her from buying more books than necessary.</p><p>While buying their materials, they ended up meeting some of their schoolmates. Ben stopped for a moment to speak to Charlie Weasley, who ended up dragging the two hufflepuffs into the conversation, excited to learn that they were going to audition for the team.</p><p>The day passed quickly, they chatted quickly with people they knew, avoided the crowd, ate sweets and exchanged news about their families (Ben and Rowan, actually). Near the end of the afternoon, Eliott bought ice cream for her friends and the three stopped in front of the Quidditch shop.</p><p>Ben wasn’t the biggest Quidditch fan, and he wasn’t excited to go back to flying lessons with Madam Hooch, but he stayed with his friends while they talked random things about broom models.</p><p>-... Orion Amari may be a nice guy, but I bet he won't take it easy on us. - said Rowan while admiring a Comet. - And there are the beaters, they are very tough. If we want to join the team, we need to work hard.</p><p>- I b-bet you'll m-make it ... - murmured Ben, taking his ice cream. - You w-were one of the b-best of our year in flying c-class.</p><p>- Thank you, Ben. My sister Maya started training me last week, even though she doesn't want me to win the Ravenclaw. But she is relentless, her training is very difficult. Eliott, how are you training with your father?</p><p>Eliott finished the ice cream, noting that he had not spoken in a while. - Hm. Hm. H-He's very s-strict... H-He was Slytherin c-captain and b-beater, a-after all... Hm.</p><p>- It's understandable. Slytherins are though. - Rowan laughed and the three left the store. She frowned suddenly. - Well, I'm not at all excited to see a certain Slytherin.</p><p>Eliott, Ben and Naveen sulked, thinking about everything Merula Snyde had done for them last year. Ben tried to stay positive and shook his head, despite the fact that he was most afraid of the girl.</p><p>- L-Let's not think a-about it. W-We still have a month before we get back. I'm excited to go back to school, but how about we enjoy it? Let's go to the pet store.</p><p>Eliott quickly got excited and ran to her favorite store, Magical Menagerie, Ben and Rowan let her ramble on animals while looking. She was happy to be able to talk about her favorite subject, but soon noticed that there was something wrong. She remembered Rowan's letter and that she had not yet looked for more clues, nor entered Jacob's room.  She turned to her friend, noting that she quickly pretended to smile.</p><p>She sighed, defeated. - N-No, Rowan ... I h-haven't entered Jacob's r-room yet ...</p><p>- But it's been a whole month, Ellie! - The Indian said loudly, then took a deep breath when she saw her friend's expression. - Sorry, sorry, I know it's a delicate subject for you... But ...</p><p>- Rowan, no. - Ben warned, holding Eliott's hand. The Gryffindor and Hufflepuff exchanged glances, trying to decide what to do. - Eliott, I know we decided to go after the vaults, but you don't have to go in there if you don't want to ...</p><p>- N-No ... Hm ... I s-said I was g-going after the v-vaults, b-but ... - she looked up, seeing that the shop owner was sleeping. She felt bad about Jacob, and how frustrated her friends seemed. - Hm... M-My mom l-locked the room ... I'm t-trying to g-get the hidden k-key...</p><p>It worried her friends, they knew very well that Asterin was not someone you should challenge.</p><p>- N-No, no, forget it, Ellie. If you don't want to... t-that's fine. - Rowan said, patting her on the shoulder. - We can do it another way. We still have Damian. Did he send a letter?</p><p>- Hm... n-nothing i-important ... - she murmured. - D-Dad.. D-Dad is a little... u-uncomfortable when I talk about Damian. B-Because he m-met Jacob... He d-doesn't want me to f-find out a-anything about the Vaults. - Eliott grimaced and sat down for a while in an old box. - I t-think... that's w-why he w-wants to spend so much t-time with me ...</p><p>- I bet not, Ellie. - Ben sat beside her and touched her shoulder. - He seems to be scary. But I saw the way you two communicate. It is strange, but you understand each other very well. </p><p>Eliott smiled and Naveen agreed with Ben.</p><p>- Is he trying to stop you from entering the room?  - asked Rowan. Eliott shook her head. - Then only your mother who keeps the key. It looks like we're going to have to break into the room.</p><p>- Rowan! - Ben scolded, but he and Eliott were laughing and she shrugged.</p><p>- Sorry, sorry. - She opened her eyes wide, remembering something, and sat next to them in the small box. - I heard my siblings talking and discovered some interesting things.</p><p>They looked around, the pet store was large, but it was almost always empty. Eliott was one of the only customers who went there frequently, so it was a good place to speak without being heard. They saw the shop owner still asleep and leaned over to talk.</p><p>- Amber works in the ministry, she told my brothers that Dumbledore is having problems. He:s traveling. Even during the summer and during the past year he dropped out of school several times.</p><p>- He t-told me he w-was... g-going after s-someone. - whispered Eliott. - An... an e-expert.</p><p>- Yes, he is looking for a professional Curse Breaker. To fix the cursed vaults.</p><p>- What is a Curse Breaker? - asked Ben.</p><p>- He's a wizard who usually works alone or for the government, they break curses, look for ancient artifacts, treasures and that kind of dangerous thing. Dumbledore has been worried, it seems that the ice has spread beyond the fifth floor corridor during the summer.</p><p>Eliott and Ben opened their eyes wide and gasped. - T-The i-ice t-took Hogwarts ?!</p><p>- No, no! Speak quietly! The teachers have already managed. They managed to contain the curse. But I bet it hasn't changed much. Do you remember that the castle remained cold even after the winter ended?</p><p>- So, did we... we r-release the c-curse? - asked Ben, terrified.</p><p>Eliott cringed, after she and her friends went to the secret room, she totally forgot that the ice could escape. After everyone left, the ice washed over the door, but nothing happened. The castle remained cold, but not as cold as it was in winter. But, she never thought it could have made the curse worse.</p><p>- N-No. T-The curse was a-already o-open before we even f-found the corridor. - she said.</p><p>- So, was it Mallory?</p><p>Eliott frowned at Ben. No, Mallory McCartney was completely against the idea of opening the secret door. She was terrified of getting close to the vaults and hated Eliott for trying to get into the room. And this year would be worse. This year Eliot would go after the real vault.</p><p>- N-No, Damian s-said... s-she is a-fraid of the vaults.  She w-would not o-open them. Hm... Damian t-tried it himself, so he could c-close them a-all again. B-But she didn't w-eant to.</p><p>- So it wasn't Mallory. - Rowan adjusted the glasses.  - But we don't know anyone else who might want to enter the Crypts. Besides Merula, but she only found out about them last year, and she's too stupid to do anything on her own.</p><p> - Are you still irritated that she deceived us?</p><p>- Of course I am, Ben! After all our planning! Anyway, I think we're at a dead end. We will have to wait until we get back to Hogwarts to be able to search further.</p><p>Ben and Eliott agreed and the three were silent again. Eliott decided not to spoil the mood among her friends and took them out of the pet store, taking them to see the rest of the stores. After much conversation, Rowan was allowed to return to Flourish and Blotts to buy another book, they get more ice cream at Florean Fortescue's and went back to the Leaky Cauldron.</p><p>Eliott sat down among her friends, who were giving warning eyes to anyone trying to say something bad to her. Petrus arrived minutes later with a cake for Ben and Eliott, the Gryffindor died of shame but thanked the Auror for his kindness.</p><p>Ben and Rowan left with their families, and Eliott felt her heart sink a little as he followed her father through the fireplace, with her supplies and cake. She felt tired, but happy after seeing her friends. Even if there was a voice bothering her in the back of her mind. Before she could go back to the room, Petrus called to her.</p><p>- Let's go to the garden. Hm. I... I have another surprise for you ... - he murmured and walked away, Eliott followed</p><p>While Amon picked up some earthworms from the ground and shared with Naveen, the Auror stood in the middle of the lawn, a little nervous, and pulled something out of his pocket and handed over his daughter.</p><p>It was a red box, and inside was a miniature broom. A Comet 260.</p><p>With her father's encouragement, she picked up the broom and released it, before it could hit the ground, the broom increased and was normal size. It's handle was curved, well polished and was the perfect size for Eliott. Whenever she trained at the Shooting Star, she found it difficult to hold and assemble, as the broom was for someone the size of Petrus.</p><p>But this one was the right size and had her name engraved in gold on the end of the cable. The legilimens laughed out loud and admired her gift, circling the broom.</p><p>Petrus watched his daughter in silence, pleased to see her so happy after so long. She was always quiet, and even though she smiled, it was always a small and a little sad smile. He was happy to see her animation, proud of himself for making her happy.</p><p>- It's your gift. - he said when she looked at him excited with bright brown eyes, do much different from his own sad eyes. - I thought you was tired of training with my Shooting Star. So I went to Diagon Alley yesterday.</p><p> - Hm. T-Thank you, b-but ... Hm... I d-on't even k-know if I'm g-going to join the t-team ... - she blushed and hid her face in the braids.</p><p>- You go. You are great at flying and has talent. - Petrus said firmly, placing his hand on her head. - And with this new Comet, nobody will be able to overcome you.</p><p>Eliott laughed, barely holding back with emotion. She had a broom just for her now, she didn't see a problem in her father's old one, she didn't care if others were to find it funny. But nothing beats the thrill of having your own broom. She threw herself forward and hugged her father, taking him by surprise.</p><p>Neither said anything, but he will qualify. It had been years since Eliott had hugged her father. When she was a child, he was the only person who could calm her down, she hugged him when she was scared, and held his cloak when they walked together. But over time, it seemed that a barrier was created between them. Even before Jacob was gone. Over the years, Eliott learned many things about her family, she discovered the hidden secrets and became nervous.</p><p>Her legilimency did not help her either, she always listened to what her relatives said, she knew what her mother thought of her. And she heard her father. Even though he tried hard to look normal and not worry the little girl, she knew how tired he was. He had seen things that she couldn't even imagine, but she could see it.</p><p>Now, she hugged him tighter, feeling him clumsily pat her on the back. And the way he smiled, and she, too, made her feel better. They did not have to say anything, they just installed each other's presence and then went around on their brooms together.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Jacob's room</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter 2- Jacob's room</p><p>Eliott continued to avoid Jacob's room for weeks that followed. She did not write an answer to Damian. She ignored Naveen's disappointed look and did anything to distract herself until the end of the summer.</p><p>She engaged in her training, and now that she had her own broom, she and her father found it easier to train. They flew together over the mansion grounds, flew over the forest at night, and once had to disappear for a while as Asterin had been furious after Petrus sipped at one of the windows.</p><p>Petrus was a good beater, and he was extremely strong physically and his training consisted of him throwing the quaffle in the air with his bat while his daughter dodged and tried not to be crushed.</p><p>After training, they would sit well away from the mansion and take care of their own tasks. Things looked good for a while, she continued to avoid the room and enjoyed the time with her father.</p><p>However, there was a night when she couldn't sleep. Her nightmares continued. They never stopped, her father knew that but he couldn't do much except give her a Dreamless Sleep potion every now and then. He didn't want his daughter to be sick from taking the potion every time she had a bad dream, so he took her for a walk in the forest.</p><p>But that night, Eliott found that facing her dreams alone, her father had been called to the Ministry and Asterin was visiting her parents. She didn't care at first, repeating herself that she was used to it.</p><p>She lied to herself, before waking up scared that night, trapped in her own blankets while trying to escape from something invisible. Naveen woke up scared and tried to get out of the aquarium, ready to protect his owner from invisible danger.</p><p>Eliott hugged herself, her face sweaty, hands shaking, blinking her eyes and trying to keep the images out of her head. Her breathing was uncontrolled and she forgot where she was.</p><p>The only thing she saw was her brother disappearing in the dark, Asterin's laughter and cruel look, Petrus' disappointed face, violet eyes and a sharp smile. The sharp teeth, claws and murderous eyes of the cruelest Werewolf in the country. And her friends trapped in the ice, their faces pale and their lips blue, begging her to save them. And Hogwarts trapped in the ice. Her vision had come true, she had opened the Cursed Vault and released the curse...</p><p>Naveen managed to get off the nightstand and jumped on the owner's lap, croaking softly. She looked at him a little alarmed, remembering that she was in her room. That was enough to make her relax. She was at Lamoth Mansion, and the summer was not over yet. Her friends were safe in their homes.</p><p>She took a deep breath, repeating this information to herself. </p><p>Then she hugged her little frog and looked at the dark room. It was night and the sun would still take time to rise, but she was unable to sleep. Rowan and Damian's words swirled around in her head and she got angry, she wanted to get this over with, so she pushed the sheets away and jumped out of bed. Putting on a thick sweater, she put the frog in a bag, took the wand and a candle and left the room.</p><p>The house was dark and the elves were asleep, the pictures complained when she went down the hall with the candle. Eliott took a deep breath over and over, staring at the door to Asterin's office, one of the most frightening and dangerous witches he knew. And also her mother. She knew that if she were caught, she would be punished, but, like the time she entered the Secret Room, she felt a little brave.</p><p>She had Naveen in her arms, and she had promised herself that she would find Jacob. And the only way to do that would be to enter her room. Then, pushing fear away, she slowly opened the door and entered. The place was large, full of books, as expected from a Silvers, there were a lot of trophies and pictures on the walls. But all the figures in the frames were serious-faced women, whom Eliott noticed had the same cold eyes as her mother.</p><p>In the center was a table full of scrolls, facing the window. Eliott approached slowly, her wand in hand, waiting for some alarm spell to go off, but perhaps Asterin was too proud to think that anyone would have the courage to enter her private room. Especially her cowardly daughter.</p><p>Eliott looked out the window and then started to open the drawers, Naveen jumped around the room, helping to search. With her heart pounding, Legilimens pulled out a bunch of old keys. She bent down to pick up Naveen and left as quickly as she came in, closing the door and running to Jacob's room.</p><p>- W-We r-really did it, Naveen ...- she murmured to the frog that she croaked, scared. Eliott didn't even notice that she was sweating and almost fell when she stopped in front of her brother's door. Her shaking hands searched for the right key before fitting it into the lock. Eliott looked at the frog. - A-Are you r-ready?</p><p>The question was for her, but the amphibian answered with a brave 'Croac' and the two entered.</p><p>Jacob, like his little sister, didn't have many important belongings in his small room. Some of his clothes were still in the closet, as well as some old books and his Hogwarts trunk that was pushed under the bed by Petrus.</p><p>Eliott was unable to close the door, the room was dark and dusty, not at all disturbed, but she felt she would be trapped there, even with the key in her bag.</p><p>She rummaged through the closet, finding old clothes, then went to the desk. The scrolls were all dusty, they were all old essays and homework that had never been delivered. Some children's drawings, which she knew she had made, were kept in the bottom of the drawer. She smiled tenderly and took one of them, putting it in her bag.</p><p>Naveen jumped around the room. The books on the shelves were full of dust, but most were about subjects that were taught at school. There was another one that was about magical creatures and Eliott took them by instinct. Some books about dragons, others about sea creatures, two books about curses, and a copy of 'Hogwarts, a story'. Some pages were torn off and fell to the floor when she opened the books, some paragraphs were crossed out and others were circled in red ink.</p><p>Eliott knew that one of the creature books was hers, Petrus had given it to her and Jacob had taken it from her bookshelf. At the time, Eliott had suspected, as her brother had not chosen Kettleburn's class as an elective, but he lied and said it was for an important homework. And as always, she had believed him.</p><p>Now, she felt bad. With a little impatience, she put all the books in her bag. It weight make her a little sick.</p><p>She opened the book of curses but most of the pages had been ripped off and the rest were very worn or scratched. She frowned. Her brother was not the type to cross books. He was afraid that someone would discover something.</p><p>She put the books away quickly and bent down to pull the trunk under the bed. All the clothes inside were almost intact, the school uniform was still there, which was suspect. So, Jacob wasn't at school when he disappeared. She rocked his clothes, and something fell out of one of the pockets on the uniform's cloak.</p><p>It was a small, thin red ribbon with a circular silver pendant. She opened it and found nothing, no photo or note, yet she carefully placed it in the bag. Maybe it was something important for Jacob. School books and notebooks had nothing useful, more homework and old essays. She opened his ancient rune book and found a marked page, her eyes widening as she recognized the runes.</p><p>Futhark. It was a runic alphabet used in Scandinavia and Germany. She did not understand and had never studied runes, as it was a difficult subject, but she had seen the runes many times at her relatives' house. Her father had some old vases in the manor with the runes and Jacob had asked him about them.</p><p>
  <em>"I hope I don't have to ask Dad to teach me ..."</em>
</p><p>She pulled out the other books, but there was nothing. Jacob's reading level was above hers, she barely understood half the words. She was not smart like Jacob, or like Rowan and she felt like an idiot. Again, she thought about how she lived in a world completely different from her brother.</p><p>Naveen croaked again and put his paw over her hand. He never met Jacob, the boy had already disappeared when he arrived at the house, years ago, when he was just a tadpole. Eliott had received her frog as a gift from Petrus after crying in her room for days. For a long time, Naveen was her only consolation and she couldn't help but smile as she took him in her arms and stood up.</p><p>As she left the room, she let out a long breath, almost as if the atmosphere in the room was crushing her. Just like the brother's memories. She locked the door and, having no choice, went into the basement.</p><p>The place was smaller than she remembered. She went down the stairs carefully, trying not to trip over her family's old and useless relics. She was sure that most were cursed.</p><p>She found some old wooden toys, long left for her, and Jacob's pictures.Asterin had dropped anyway in a corner. In one of the paintings, a little boy as small as she, with a round face and unruly hair, smiled and waved. Eliott bent down to show Naveen what her brother was like, years ago. He looked so innocent.</p><p>And then she found the old picture of the family. It was the same as what had been hung in the hall three years ago. But in this one, the family was complete. Asterin and Petrus were still serious, the witch didn't want to hold her baby daughter so she was in her father's arms, Jacob was standing beside his mother. Both children were smiling innocently. The painted figure of Asterin grimaced at the older version of her daughter.</p><p>Naveen croaked at an old stack of newspapers. Eliott came over to get some. She had seen some of them in the school library last Christmas, but she didn't have the heart to read everything. Putting her frog aside, she leafed through quickly, ignoring the lump in her throat. The same news, the same headlines, most of them made by Rita Skeeter.</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>" Cursed ice ..."</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>"The curse of the Lamoth family ..."</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>"Students get stuck in the ice ..."</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>"Duncan Ashe, student of Hogwarts, dies ..."</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>Eliott stopped and looked, hands shaking and a strong urge to throw up taking her. She had done everything she could to not think about the boy who died. She had discovered Duncan Ashe's existence in Mallory McCartney's memoirs, but she had never read the headline.</p><p>No one ever knew how the student died, everyone said that Dumbledore was hiding the truth, that it was a very tragic accident. But her brother was found guilty and expelled. The teachers were going to send him to the Ministry, but he never got off the train. He was never seen again.</p><p>Naveen had to croak loudly to wake her up and notice that her hands were so white that she squeezed the paper. She looked at the figure of Dumbledore in the newspaper, looking at her seriously. And then a boy older than her. Duncan Ashe was serious and trying to get out of the picture.</p><p>Again, Eliott felt her heart sink. She felt bad, guilty, terribly sick. Her brother had done many questionable things, but he would never kill anyone. If Duncan and Jacob were friends, there was no reason ...</p><p>She tried to remember what Damian said, tried to focus on her brother's good memories.</p><p>The Vaults were really dangerous, she knew that, even if she had only faced the cursed ice once. But there were many dangers ahead and she had decided to face them all, even if it was dangerous.</p><p>Her head hurt and she packed the newspapers in the box and stood for a few seconds in the dark. Her head hurt more than ever. Naveen croaked loudly, pulling her out of the trance, she looked around and remembered what she had done. She felt a little lighter, she had looked for clues, as Rowan asked. So, she could leave, and that's what she did.</p><p>Without caring, Eliott ran out of the basement, returned the key to Asterin's office, and ran back to the bedroom. Throwing herself on the bed, she hid in the blankets, telling herself that everything was fine and stayed that way until dawn.</p><p>Naveen left the aquarium and lay on the pillow, next to her head, trying to comfort her.</p><p>************</p><p>Eliott continued to be sick when morning came, she did not sleep much after going to Jacob's room, many bad memories tormenting her.</p><p>With a bad mood and a headache, she dressed and went to the kitchen. She greeted the elves politely, knowing that they were concerned about her tired appearance, but she took her breakfast and went to the garden. At least the sheep could not question her about her lack of sleep.</p><p>While eating, she thought of all the new things she discovered and tried to unravel a bit of the mystery about the vaults on her own. She couldn't let Rowan do everything for her.</p><p>Damian was right, Jacob was researching dangerous creatures. Then they would have to face some magical creature at some point, maybe a dragon. That information, she knew was useless, at least for now. Now she would have to face the curse of the ice, so the search for magical creatures and dragons could wait for a while.</p><p>The curse book was also useless. It was all torn and scratched, Jacob had managed to hide anything he had discovered. But why? Tthe book was in the house, then he was afraid that Petrus or Asterin would read it. Or maybe he didn't want Eliott to read. Maybe he knew she would want to go after him ...</p><p>Did he know he was going to disappear? He had done very dangerous things, he should have been aware that he would be expelled. Or that something was going to happen.</p><p>Flashes of Mallory's memories flooded Eliott's mind and she flinched, thinking she was going to throw up breakfast. Naveen jumped on the grass and looked at her with concern.</p><p>
  <em>"It's okay, it's okay, it's okay ..."</em>
</p><p>It seemed stupid to try to believe that her brother didn't do anything bad, but she didn't care. She would always believe Jacob. She knew that Rita Skeeter was an irritating liar, and that the Ministry would do anything to hide anything that could ruin their reputation. And her family was hated, no matter what Jacob did, they were always to blame.</p><p>Thoughts flew through Eliott's mind, and without realizing it, she grabbed the pendant she had found and began to spin it between her fingers. She watched it closely. She had nothing special in the object, it was simple, small and almost useless, but something in her mind said that she should keep it. </p><p>She shook her head with some anger. Honestly, she was tired. But that was still the beginning of the 'adventure', as Penny would say. But it was already so tiring ...</p><p>The sound of heavy footsteps on the grass alerted her to the presence of Petrus and she cringed a little more, feeling that her father was a little upset. He passed her and greeted the sheep with a silent 'Good Morning'. Eliott watched him, expected him to speak soon.</p><p>- Eliott. - he finally called her, turning to face her. The little girl cringed and continued to eat. - Last night ... Hm ... Asterin found one of the keys in her office out of place, she is not happy. Hm. - Eliott flinched a little more and Petrus sighed. - I told her that I went in there to get the keys, because I wanted to get something in the basement.</p><p>Silence.</p><p>Eliott looked up sheepishly, seeing her father with a stern expression. - Hm ... A-Are... Hm. A-Are you m-mad...?</p><p>- No. I just want to know why you entered Asterin's office. You know she doesn't like anyone to get in there.</p><p>- I ... Hm ....- she swallowed and looked around.  Naveen jumped close to her. - I w-wanted to... p-polish the Shooting Star and the Comet ... Hm. B-But I didn't f-find your c-case ...</p><p>Petrus spent a few seconds looking at her, trying to discover a lie. Eliott knew he was scared, afraid she was after something about Jacob. They looked at each other in that strange way until the wizard sighed and went back to looking after the fence. He didn't even notice when his daughter threw her head back and almost let out a loud breath.</p><p>She was relieved that her father believed her, but not so happy that she had to lie to him. She felt his fear increase a little as he spoke, trying to totally believe her words. When he finished fixing the crooked fence and the sheep left, he wiped his hands and turned to her.</p><p>- Next time, ask for me. Your mom doesn't like you to go into the basement. Or in her office. I bought you another case.</p><p>- I... d-did not f-find...</p><p>- Better be careful with your stuff. You easily forget where you leave your belongings ... - He let out a small snort, still not looking at her.</p><p>She finished eating and went back to the kitchen, washing the plate and cutlery, even though the elves had protested, then went upstairs to get the Comet and the broom's servicing kit. Her headache hadn't improved much, she thought taking care of her broom and watching her father work could help improve her mood.</p><p>And Asterin had already gone to work, so she relaxed, knowing that she was safe for now and her father had saved her from punishment. She sat in the same place as before and began to cut off the loose or bent twigs on the tail. Handiwork has always soothed her, she pushed her concern deep into her mind and concentrated on her work.</p><p>The rest of the afternoon went smoothly. Eliott and Petrus were silent, taking care of their own tasks. Taking care of the plants, taking care of the fence and the sheep and sometimes playing with the Gnomes.</p><p>Eliott sat next to her father, in the middle of a flower bed and began to polish the new broom, while the wizard took care of the plant that Damian had sent. Amon landed near Eliott and pecked on her hand, then settled down next to the owner who smiled when he received a peck on his hand as well.</p><p>Minutes passed in silence, Eliott looked at her father for a moment, remembering the runes she had found in Jacob's room. The runes in the secret room were not the same, but Jacob had found them important. Petrus had been teaching German and Norwegian to his kids when they were both very young, but they soon forgot most of it. But one day, when Jacob was still at school, he asked his father to teach him again, stating that it was for the Ancient Runes class.</p><p><em>"Of course he said that ..."</em>The legilimens thought bitterly.</p><p>She bit her lip, debating with herself. Naveen noticed this and croaked very softly.</p><p>- Hm. D-Dad ... - she called and Petrus answered with a grunt. - Y-You... Hm... Y-You can s-speak Norwegian and G-German, right...?</p><p>Petrus turned his head slightly to face the girl and she shrank a little, not knowing why she was nervous. But her father was not bothered, he slowly shook his shoulders and went back to work.</p><p>- Yes. I ... My parents taught me and my sisters. When we were younger.</p><p>Eliott shook her head and put away the broom. - And...hm... you k-know h-how to read.. r-runes?</p><p>- Yes. Hm. It depends on what kind of runes. Why do you want to know?</p><p>- It's just ... Hm... W-We have some v-wases at home with s-strange r-runes. Rowan s-said... t-that it i-is German or Norse... - she lied the last part, but Petrus didn't notice.</p><p>- Futhark. Hm. You're right, it's very old... - he went back to taking care of some seedlings. Eliott sat down and started taking new seedlings from the pots, digging deep into the earth to place them. - It was your grandmother who gave it to me. There are a lot of these at her house.</p><p>- ... D-Do we h-have... a-any Scandinavian or German relative? Hm... I know... y-your mother is F-French... But w-what about y-your f-father...?</p><p>Petrus stared at her in silence. Eliott never showed an interest in their family, although his wife tried to shove some things about their lineage into her head. </p><p>He thought for a while, trying to remember his rather confused family tree. He didn't even notice that the girl's voice was lower and hesitant than usual. But his daughter was very quiet and shy, so it was not a strange thing.</p><p>- Hm ... Yes, my mother is French, but my father has German relatives. So we both have German and French descent. </p><p>- Hm... weird... - Eliott whispered, she had never thought much about her family, but now it was strange. Petrus raised an eyebrow at her. - Well ... N-Never ... I n-never thought a-about it, b-but... o-our family ... It's very b-big ... I don't know a-all o-our relatives ... Hm.</p><p>Petrus blew out a breath, thinking for a moment, his tired eyes fixed on the ground before he started digging more space for the new seedlings.</p><p>- The Lamoths are an old family, Eliott. We travel all over the world. We ... Well, we've done a lot of important things in the past, that's why we're so rich. - He shrugged, somewhat embarrassed.</p><p>Eliott thought for a moment, watching the Lamoth Manor. She had never thought about how wealthy and well-known her family was, even though they were not part of the "Sacred Twenty-Eight". The Lamoths were known for always being involved with dangerous creatures and dark magic, so everyone had this question: how did they have so much influence, power and money?</p><p>She asked the same question to her father now.</p><p>- ... Many of our relatives were important and famous wizards in the Middle Ages. Some met Merlin himself. You may have noticed that some of our relatives appear in the Chocolate Frogs. - He opened a smile. - Like Eliott Lamoth I, for example.</p><p>Eliott looked up, she always forgot the origin of her name.</p><p>Her great-great-grandmother was a famous dragonologist. In fact, at that time, there were no wizarding laws today, so wizards and muggles lived together. And all Muggles knew about the existence of magical creatures. Dragons often attacked villages and wizards were called to "take care" of them. Eliott Lamoth I was quite feared because she had tamed very dangerous dragons and was a powerful witch.</p><p>When Eliott II was born, as soon as Petrus saw her, he decided to teach her about magical creatures, as much as a way to keep her away from her mother, but because it was the Lamoth way. And when Eliott II heard her great-whatever-great-grandmother's story, she was even more delighted and wanted to know more about dangerous creatures.</p><p>- We have relatives all over the world, I think ... - Petrus scratched his neck, a little embarrassed that he didn't know much about his family. - But yes, we have French and German relatives and descent. And maybe we have distant relatives from different places. - he stopped a little and leaned towards her - Why are you so interested?</p><p>Eliott shrugged, she noticed that Amon was looking at her too. </p><p>- I w-was c-curious ... A-About the Runes ... Hm. - she quickly thought of a lie when she saw her father's gaze.  - W-Well ... Rowan w-wants to enter t-the Runes Club... A-And I w-wanted to impress her... s-so I r-remembered the v-vases ...</p><p>Petrus nodded slowly, digging a hole in the earth with a little more force than necessary. The awkward silence returned, but Eliott felt her headache and discomfort disappear as she polished the Shooting Star's. Naveen looked between the two Lamoths with impatience. He put his paw on Eliott's leg and she sighed.</p><p>- Hm. Dad ... - he mumbled again - D-Do you t-teach me French? A-And ... Futhark?</p><p>Now Petrus was more suspicious. His daughter could be quite curious, she liked to learn new things, but they were usually nature-related things, like all Lamoths. Runes were Jacob's and Asterin interests. And now she was curious about her family.</p><p>Eliott continued to stare at him, surprised at the memory of her father and brother that popped into her mind. Both were bent over a book, repeating words in French. She almost smiled, her brother was very small and was laughing whenever he missed a word. And her father too. She had never seen many happy memories of her father about Jacob. They were always very distant.</p><p>She felt the guilt that accompanied the memory and walked away. Her father noticed what she had done and frowned.</p><p>- S-Sorry ... - she murmured.</p><p>Petrus shrugged, looking away for a moment.Ammon looked at Naveen and the frog blinked slowly. The crow leaned down to bite the wizard's ear, who waved his hand away.</p><p>- I think I already taught you and your brother. Hm... A long time ago ...</p><p>- I f-forgot ... - she admitted, blushing a little. When she noticed that her father was not angry, she relaxed. - Jacob was the s-smart kid. N-Not me.</p><p>Petrus looked at her, smiling a little. He seemed lost in thought for a while. Naveen and Amon became more impatient. Those two were lousy talking. They were easily disturbed around other humans, unable to talk to each other and lost themselves in their thoughts very easily. Most of the time, the crow and the frog had to encourage them to do things.</p><p>Amon pecked Petrus again.</p><p>- Um ... You are also .... - He pushed the crow with his hand.  - I ... Hm ... I can teach you. I am obliged to speak to your grandfather in German or French whenever I see him.</p><p>Eliott laughed softly, remembering why she didn't like to visit her grandparents. The old wizard insisted on speaking only in his ancient language, stating that he wanted to challenge the intellect of his grandchildren and children.</p><p>- But Futhark ... You will have to learn from someone else. - Petrus said, smiling. - Your friend Rowan seems to be very intelligent. Can't she teach you? - Eliott shrugged and he smiled a little more. - It's all right. I can give you a book and we learn together. My parents already forced me and my sisters to read about runes when we were teenagers.</p><p>Eliott smiled again, watching Amon peck at her father, trying to lengthen the conversation. But she didn't care about the silence. She was happy to hear her father speak, and she felt much better now, even though a little voice in the back of her mind tried to remind her of what she saw in the basement.  </p><p>She swallowed and tried to concentrate. She knew that what Jacob did was dangerous, but she refused to believe that the boy in the newspaper had died because of him. Her brother was not a murderer.</p><p>She would continue her search, no matter what. She had more leads. She had her friends, Damian, Naveen and now her father was going to teach her to read ancient runes. She didn't know what Futhark was for, as it didn't match the runes found in the secret room, but it was a clue.</p><p>Hours later, when the sun was gone, she had finished polishing her brooms. Petrus thanked her for taking care of his old Shooting Star and the two took a few more walks around the forest, finished their tasks and then entered the house.</p><p>Eliott sat with her father at the living room table and he taught her the basics of German and French and the they tried to learn some runes while Naveen and Amon watched them on the table. Eliott felt good, she felt comfortable, listening to her father teach with a small smile.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Return to Hogwarts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When the day of returning to Hogwarts arrived, Eliott felt more excited than ever, happy to be able to leave the Lamoth Manor behind. But she was also a little nervous, knowing the dangers that awaited her.</p><p>She shared a silent breakfast with her father, doing her best not to show nervousness and act normally. But it didn't work out very well. Petrus noticed that she was feeling bad and was worried, he knew that bad things were happening at Hogwarts, he was aware of the rumors that were running all over the place. All about his daughter and the Cursed Vaults.</p><p>He felt bad, like he had a lump in his throat and he wondered if that was how his daughter felt. He watched her pick up the trunk and the broom, saying goodbye to the elves, the sheep, the gnomes and the gardens and wondered if he could stop her from going to Hogwarts. Perhaps it was the right decision, to keep her out of danger. But he doesn't.</p><p>Eliott had the right to have a normal childhood and adolescence, she had to see her friends. She was so excited when she talked about Ben and Rowan and the other hufflepuffs, and about the things she learned. And he wasn't going to ruin that. He wanted her to be able to enjoy Hogwarts like he never can.</p><p>So he did what he always did and pushed all worry away and smiled at the girl as they entered the Knight Bus. He didn't even mind spending a little more money to get his daughter a hot chocolate.</p><p>They crossed the passage between platforms 9 and 10, but without all the nervousness of last year. Petrus put the trunk on the train, next to the new broom, and Eliott waited for Ben and Rowan. When they arrived, the Khanna family was as noisy and lively as ever, Petrus shook everyone's hand and Opal and Harrow seemed more at ease and chatted with him. Ben introbduced his little sister Sarah to the girls and his parents were a little confused by the questions that Rowan's brothers asked them about the Muggle world.</p><p>The train started to leave and the rush started. The students hurried in, but Rowan found an empty car at the end of the train for them. Eliott sat quietly by the window, waving to her father as the train moved away. Naveen croaked at Petrus as they walked away, then lay down on his towel, watching the kids open candy wrappers and Rowan talk quickly about their summer.</p><p>She handed Eliott chocolate frogs.</p><p>- ... Maya became the Quidditch trainer for the children of my city. And Ravi finished his training and now he is an official Wandmaker, but Samir has failed, unfortunately. Now he will have to continue to be Maya's assistant. You had to see his face when Dad told me, he was sulking the rest of the week.</p><p>Ben laughed and took off the witch hat that Eliott had made for him last year and offered his friends the snacks his father had made. - I didn't even know that I had to have training to make wands. How does it work?</p><p>And so Rowan spent the next few minutes explaining how things worked on the Khanna farm and about her brothers' new job, Ben showed off his new Walkman and talked about his sister and Eliott traveled in thought.</p><p>Even though she was happy to see her friends again and excited to be back at school, she couldn't help feeling a little impatient. She had spent three months thinking only about the Vaults, had gathered information and discovered new things that she wanted to share.</p><p>But she was quiet and let her friends enjoy it while she bought sweets. Almost two hours later, the train had already left London and almost no one was walking the corridors. Since they left the station, Eliott noticed that many students were whispering and pointing into their cabin as they passed, and then walking away quickly.</p><p>She blew out a tired breath every time it happened, knowing it would be worse when they arrived at Hogwarts. Ben said something about going camping with the family, then turned to the legilimens expectantly, indicating that it was her turn to speak.</p><p>- I ... Hm ... N-Not much h-has happened. Hm. I t-told you e-everything at Diagon Alley... - She murmured and opened a chocolate frog, smiling when she saw Merlin staring inside the figurine. - Hm. My f-father gave me a n-new C-Comet... - Rowan's eyes shone. - I t-took care of the s-sheep and the p-plants and learned a little F-French and German, a-and r-researched Futhark.</p><p>Ben was confused and Rowan, although excited, also raised an eyebrow.</p><p>- Futhark? Why? This is an old runic alphabet, used in Scandinavia. Almost nobody remembers that.</p><p>Eliott pulled the golden scarf over her face, watching her friends' feet for a minute. - I-I did it ... I w-went into Jacob's r-room. A-And I found s-some things ...</p><p>Naveen lay on her thigh, looking very sad and Eliott patted him.</p><p>Ben and Rowan exchanged looks, noting how tense she had become. They forgot for a moment about the runes and sat next to her, listening intently as she told what she discovered in Jacob's room. Eliott held back her tears, uncomfortable, she hated herself for being so sensitive and wanting to cry over things like that. </p><p>- I f-found those b-books too. - she took the books from the bag, Rowan immediately took the runes and curses books. - Hm... T-They are not v-very useful... T-They are o-old and scratched...</p><p>Ben tensed when he saw the damaged pages of the dragon book. - Why would your brother leave all this behind? It seems like he didn't want anyone to read the books, so why not get rid of them?</p><p>- It seems that he tried, but was not very successful. - said Rowan, showing the torn pages. - But it is very lucky that he did not succeed, it gives us many clues as to what we can find in the next Vault.</p><p>Ben turned white and looked at Eliott who just shook her head slowly. - Do you really think we're going to find any ... Any dangerous magical creatures inside the Vaults? After everything Eliott told me about magical creatures ...</p><p>- Not all are dangerous, Ben. And we don't have to worry about that now. - Rowan said with a smile. She opened 'Hogwarts a story' with a frow. - There's not much here. But all the marked pages have to do with old rooms that were destroyed, some legends... And secret tunnels ...</p><p>- S-Scret t-tunnels? - repeated Ben.</p><p>- Some were created by students to leave Hogwarts in hiding and go to Hogsmeade. Most have been closed by teachers, but my brothers say that some can still be used. - She frowned again. - They even told me where one of them is.</p><p>- Rowan... d-did you... f-find anything e-else about the stairs? - said Eliott, a little lowly.</p><p>- No.As I said, it is difficult to find much about them. Hogwarts is huge and very old, many secrets have been hidden there. My father told me that most of the hidden mysteries have not been solved. So ... Well, I think it will be quite difficult for me to find anything about the Vaults and these stairs. Most people think they're just legends ...</p><p>- HA! I GOT YA!! - said a voice suddenly, coming from outside the car.</p><p>Eliott, Rowan and Ben tried desperately to hide the books, but most were still visible. Naveen had let out a very loud 'croac' and hid himself. At the carriage door, Jane Court was staring at them with frightening, cold eyes.</p><p>- Hey J-Jane ... It's n-not what you're t-thinking ... - said Rowan, trying to hide the books inside the bag. Jane raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips.</p><p>- I heard you talking. Are you up to something more dangerous that could make Hufflepuff lose more points? I knew I should keep an eye on you.</p><p>- No ... W-We ... We were j-just t-talking ...</p><p>Rowan continued to chatter excuses, while Eliott tried to hide the books and Ben just sank into the seat, white as paper. Suddenly, Jane leaned forward and started laughing wildly, taking the three second years by surprise. The sight of the surly and frightening prefect laughing over and over was something they never thought they would see.</p><p>Someone else approached the wagon and stuck the head inside, again scaring the trio. Chiara Lobosca looked with pity at her friends and then slapped Jane on the arm.</p><p>- I told you not to do that. It almost scared them to death! - She turned to the three and gave a shy smile, her blue eyes shining with a little humor when she saw the confused expressions. Her voice was still and low as usual. - Sorry, mates. I couldn't stop her.</p><p>- Don't be boring, Chiara. It was really worth it. - Jane said, holding her belly and leaning on the Werewolf, trying to catch her breath. After a minute, the prefect stopped laughing and slowly changed her appearance. The copper-colored hair turned green, longer than normal and tied in a ponytail. She got smaller and her face became younger and smoother, a huge smile on her face.</p><p>Now she was wearing a pink tutu, white pom-pom earrings and black combat boots. A strange combination of clothes. Chiara was behind her, trying to calm her down and apologizing to her friends for the scare. She was as pale as ever and wore a huge colored sweater.</p><p>Rowan quickly recovered from the fright and stood up, hands on hips. - Tonks, this is not funny! You almost scared us to death!</p><p>- Sorry, sis. But you had to see your face!</p><p>Eliott shook her head at the girl, patting Ben on the back to calm him down. He was very easily startled and was now giving the hufflepuff an angry look. Even Naveen was mad at her.</p><p>Chiara patted her friend on the shoulder. - I said they wouldn't like it. Sorry about that. Can we sit with you? - Rowan nodded and sat next to Eliott and Ben, while the other two were in front of them.</p><p>- You were talking about the Cursed Vaults, right? - asked Tonks, taking some sweets. - Did you find anything useful during the summer?</p><p>Rowan quickly explained to them everything they had discovered, while Eliott curled up on the bench and ate in silence. She again feeling a little bad for involving her friends in her crazy adventures. But Chiara and Tonks were more than willing to help and listened carefully to all the details and new discoveries.</p><p>- It seems that we do not go much in the investigations. But at least we have more leads and we know what we can expect in the next vault. - said Tonks - Did you hear that the Cursed Ice left the Secret Room? It was in the Daily Prophet.</p><p>- Yes, everyone just talked about it. - Rowan confirmed, casting a discreet look at Eliott. - They say that Professor Dumbledore is traveling a lot. Going after someone.</p><p>- I heard my parents saying that he is looking for a Curse Breaker. A very famous one. Patrícia Rakepick. - said Chiara. - But ... Well, she seems to be very difficult to find, she lives traveling and never stops in one place. So even if Dumbledore finds her ...</p><p>She scratched her arm, thinking a little. Eliott sighed and sat back. - B-By then, the i-ice will h-have s-spread ...</p><p>- So we have to do that now, right? - Tonks said with a smirk. - We may not have much, but we know how to find the Vault. And we have Damian's help. Ah! And we met Penny on the way here. She said she is excited for this year. And that if we need help with anything, just call her.</p><p>- She seems too excited about going after the Cursed Vault. - murmured Ben, shaking hands. Eliott silently agreed with him, still uncomfortable.</p><p>- Even with all the clues we have, and Damian's help, it won't be easy. - Rowan said severely, adjusting the glasses. - We'll have to be careful. And will be together.</p><p>She looked at Eliott again, the legilimens nodded, smiling slightly at her friends, grateful to have their help. Naveen croaked happily and jumped around the booth, the kids relaxed and dropped the subject.</p><p>Last year, Eliott had a somewhat peaceful trip, with only Ben and Rowan to talk and share sweets. Now that Tonks and Chiara were here, there was much more talk and noise, and she bought more sweets to share and spoke a little more, feeling more at ease and less nervous.</p><p>Chiara and Tonks talked about their family vacations and trips. The werewolf being as quiet and shy as ever, she was looking forward to seeing Borf again and being able to walk in the Forbidden Forest. Meanwhile, Tonks' lively and loud energy brought the group to life and drew a lot of attention, and from time to time she would turn into a monitor or teacher and scare students who tried to spy inside the booth.</p><p>When it was dark, one of the monitors came to tell them it was an hour before they arrived at Hogwarts and they changed their clothes. When the train stopped at Hogsmeade station, it was already possible to see the castle through the trees, the students got out of the cabins and started pushing to get out.</p><p>- We will take the boats again? - asked Chiara.</p><p>- I h-hope n-not... I d-don't l-like the boats. I am.. a-afraid of the lake and the G-Giant Squid. - Ben said, holding Rowan's hand and she giggled when dhe remembered how she and Eliott had scared him in the first year. - And it r-rocked too much, I almost t-threw up.</p><p>- No, the boat trip is only for the first and seventh years. - replied Tonks. - We go by carriage. It's more peaceful.</p><p>Ben sighed in relief and took Eliott's hand. Together, they got out of the cabin and got off the train, trying to stay upright and not separate as they pushed their way through the crowd of students who pushed and jostled.Eliott almost lost herself in the group, but remained steadfast until they found an empty carriage and were able to release their hands.</p><p>- I almost got lost. Those fifth graders have no pity. They hit me a lot of times. - growled Tonks.</p><p>The carriage started to move. Eliott leaned over to see Hogwarts, standing on the hill, the lights in the main hall were already on and she felt a good nostalgia. Finally at home. The Forbidden Forest did not look so scary, even though it was very dark and she wished she could walk with the Magical Creatures. She wondered if Borf was waiting for them.</p><p>- Ben, are you okay? - Rowan asked, drawing the attention of the friends to the Gryffindor. He didn't hear, he was looking through the trees and he looked almost hypnotized, without blinking or moving.</p><p>Eliott looked through the trees and saw nothing, Ben continued to stare even though the carriage moved. She nudged him a few times until he blinked again and looked at them.</p><p>- S-Sorry, what did you say?</p><p>Rowan exchanged a look with the girls before taking his arm. - What were you looking at? Are you alright?</p><p>He shrugged, giving a small smile. - Ah yes. It was nothing. I was just thinking. Hm. I'm hungry, that's all...</p><p>He continued to smile. Eliott frowned and continued to stare. There was something wrong, she could feel it, but not explain. Something bothered her, a strange feeling that something was missing, it made her sick. She looked at the forest and could see nothing but the shade of the trees and the lights that marked the dirt road. She looked at Ben again and he continued to smile, that shy way he always did.</p><p>Now, he heard what Tonks was saying, but she knew he wasn't really paying attention. The feeling grew stronger and she became irritated. She hadn't even stepped on Hogwarts and there was already something strange. The carriage continued to move and the conversation continued, but nothing felt right.</p><p>Finally the students arrived at the castle, looking in awe at the marble walls, the ghosts that welcomed them, the pictures, the stairs and statues. It seemed like it was the first time they had entered Hogwarts. They entered the wonderful Great Hall and sighed with joy. Eliott smiled when she saw the starry sky, the candles, the gargoyles and waved happily to the ghosts as she sat with her friends at the Hufflepuff table, Ben sat right behind her at the Gryffindor table and greeted Charlie. The teachers were already in place and were waiting patiently for the first years to arrive.</p><p>Eliott looked around and found the real Jane, frowning as always. The prefect's sight reminded her that Damian was gone and that made her a little sad. They exchanged nods and turned to the opening doors of the hall and a line of children came in looking around with wide eyes and open mouths.</p><p>Rowan laughed and leaned towards Eliott. - Did we looked like this last year?</p><p>The legilimens laughed too. - C-Certainly not...</p><p>This year, Eliott felt much more comfortable during the selection, as it was not she who was standing in the middle of the main hall, shaking with nervousness while all the other students stared at her. She was quiet all the time, eating her sweets and watching the students being graded, clapping her hands whenever a new hufflepuff sat at the end of the table.</p><p>Over time, things got more boring. There were many students and some of them took a long time to be classified, and soon everyone was hungry. Eliott tried to distract herself, playing with Naveen and occasionally listening to Tonks and Chiara's conversation.</p><p>Finally, after a long time, the last student ran to the Gryffindor table and Professor Dumbledore went up to the podium to give his welcome speech, his red and gold robes shining in the candlelight. The entire room was silent when he raised both hands in the air.</p><p>- Welcome, new first year students. And to all the students who are returning, it is good to have you back! Before we start our long-awaited banquet, I will have to give you some warnings and remind you of the school rules.</p><p>Most of the students groaned and hit their heads on the table, but Dumbledore continued to speak nonetheless. Naveen croaked softly on Eliott's cover, and she agreed.</p><p>- First of all, I would like to introduce the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Miss Alice Quinn.</p><p>The headmaster pointed to a woman with curly blond hair and circular glasses sitting at the end of the table, when the students started clapping, she stood and bowed.</p><p>- Now, to the notices. - continued the headmaster. - I don't think I need to remind you that the Forbidden Forest is extremely dangerous, so we ask students to keep their distance, especially at night. Second, Mr Filch asked me to warn you that the list of prohibited objects at the school has increased, you could see the list on his office door. And thirdly, for those who are interested in joining their home Quidditch teams, the tests will begin in the coming weeks.</p><p>The Hufflepuff girls smiled at each other while Eliott and Rowan gave a high-five. When the two turned to the headmaster, he was more serious, his blue eyes stopped on the Hufflepuff table for a few seconds.</p><p>- And lastly I would like to remind you that Hogwarts is a magical place, full of adventures and new discoveries, but also a place of learning. Concentrate on your studies, set aside time for your friends and, above all, take care when transiting the castle. If you see something strange that is outside Hogwarts' strangeness standards, don't hesitate to tell a professor. Each year at Hogwarts is interesting, but something tells me that this year holds more surprises than the others.</p><p>Again, her eyes landed on the Hufflepuff table and Eliott winced at the thought that he was quietly giving her and her friends a warning.</p><p>However, that calm smile and the sparkle in his eyes came back and he clapped. - No more big statements and ominous alerts. Please enjoy the banquet!</p><p>The hall was filled with conversations and sighs of admiration as the dishes filled with food. Dumbledore sat in his chair and Eliott reluctantly started to eat, but there was still something bothering her. She couldn't help turning around to see if Ben was still there. He was, and it calmed her down a little.</p><p>She took a look at the teachers' table and leaned over to her friends. - W-What h-happened to Professor Gallagher...?</p><p>- Nobody knows for sure. - replied Chiara. - But Penny told me there are rumors that she was cursed and had to leave school. Some older students say she was trapped in the cursed ice.</p><p>Eliott frowned, feeling more uncomfortable.</p><p>- Well, we should already wait for her to leave. - said Rowan. - Jasper told me that none of the teachers in this subject stay more than a year in school.</p><p>- It's better this way, I really didn't like her. I hope this one knows how to teach better. - said Tonks.</p><p>Eliott agreed, remembering how Professor Gallagher taught very boring classes and paid no attention to students, which gave students like Merula the freedom to do whatever they want during classes.</p><p>- Is it just me or is Professor Dumbledore a little weird? - Chiara whispered.</p><p>- Everyone knows that he's always that weird. - Tonks shrugged, but Eliott felt she was a little nervous. -Rowan, pass me that pie? Without Damian here, I can fill myself with sweets at will.</p><p>Rowan laughed and returned to eat. She gave Eliott a discreet look. The legilimens shook her head and started eating, pushing the worry away.</p><p>This time, the banquet lasted longer. The students celebrated and talked, introducing themselves to the new students and meeting old friends. At some point Penny sat down between Tonks and Chiara and told them about her summer with her parents and younger sister. Ben occasionally leaned back to hear something Rowan said and now he looked more normal and smiled happily whenever he heard a joke.</p><p>The first-year students were the first to leave, but Eliott's group was allowed to stay in the hall for a while longer talking. When there were not so many students, Eliott, Rowan and Ben got up and left together, still laughing nonchalantly.</p><p>When they reached the stairs, Ben turned to his friends.</p><p>- Well, I better get going soon, or I'll be stuck out here. Good night. See you tomorrow.</p><p>- Good night, Ben. - Rowan said, giving him a hug and turning to go.</p><p>Eliott gave her friend a hug, a little tighter than usual. That strange feeling came up again and she was startled, Dumbledore's words popping up in her mind. Ben was not surprised at her behavior and hugged she back, before letting go and turning to go up the stairs.</p><p>- S-See you t-tomorrow. - said Eliott, looking at his back.</p><p>The two hufflepuffs, and Naveen, went down the stairs straight to the basement. The Hufflepuff common room was almost empty, Chiara and Tonks were already asleep and the two decided to do the same. Rowan fell asleep quickly, too tired to think.</p><p>But Eliott spent a long time looking at the ceiling.  he bad feeling increased and she kept her awake, her concern for Ben was bothering her. He looked fine, normal and happy. But that strange look, the way he looked hypnotized.</p><p>With a grunt of frustration, Eliott covered her head with the sheet, cursed under her breath. Things were already getting bad.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Missing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first day of school started normal. Eliott woke up earlier than her friends and started tidying up her side of the room, now having more important belongings to put on her nightstand and a poster to stick to the wall.</p><p>When they woke up, Rowan, Chiara and Tonks did the same and the four started to get ready for classes. Tonks was slow to decide her new hairstyle and decided to leave the room with a pink mohawk to irritate the teachers. Eliott wrapped the scarf over her face, put Naveen in the bag and left the common room. The morning was pleasant, the corridors were still cold, but she did not feel that discomfort she had the night before.</p><p>She sat among her friends at the table and started serving breakfast when Professor Sprout appeared, wishing a good day and handing the students their new schedules. The second years did not have as many breaks and flight classes were not mandatory, so students who did not want to participate could use this time to rest and study.</p><p>Eliott compared her schedules to Rowan's, seeing that they had shared classes again but would have to split up into some. She looked around, hoping to find Ben, but the boy still hadn't shown up.</p><p>- Today we will have Charms together, with Ravenclaw, then History of Magic with Gryffindor. After lunch, Defense Against the Dark Arts with Slytherin and Potions with Ravenclaw. - said Rowan, finishing eating her chocolate pie. - And you, Ellie?</p><p>Eliott took a look at the paper. - Hm ... A-After l-lunch, I will g-go to H-Herbology and Transfiguration... w-with Slytherin... Hm.</p><p>- Two lessons in a row with Slytherin? - Chauncy Brown murmured a few meters away. - How lucky.</p><p>Eliott and Rowan agreed with him.</p><p>- Will Ben be in any of these classes with us? Where is he, anyway?</p><p>Eliott looked around, seeing that Rowan was getting worried, she tried to be positive. - Hm ... M-Maybe he s-slept too m-much.... W-We stayed up l-late y-yesterday.</p><p>Rowan frowned, but agreed. - It better not take too long ...</p><p>Eliott agreed, feeling her friend's concern erase her lively aura. The same irritating feeling hit her again, and she couldn't stop thinking that Ben was in trouble and it filled her with bitterness. Her first day of school had barely started and she was already feeling bad.</p><p><em>"Can I have a rest? Is it too much to ask?"</em> She thought irritated when she took her books and Naveen and followed with Rowan to the Charms' classroom.</p><p>Last year, most of the girls' Charms classes were shared with Gryffindor, so it was almost a surprise when they found the students in blue robes sitting next to their classmates. Eliott took a deep breath and pressed the books to her chest when several pairs of eyes turned to her and the whispers began. Rowan grimaced at everyone who looked at them ugly and held her friend's hand.</p><p>The two sat side by side in their chair and soon Professor Flitwick arrived. With his usual friendly smile and good humor, he greeted and welcomed all the students, before climbing on his pile of books.</p><p>- Very well, welcome to your first class of Charms of the second year. It's great to have you all back. - he said and the students agreed, excited for the class. - Today we will learn Engorgio. It is the enhancement and counter-charm of the Shrinking Charm, and causes the target to grow or swell. I hope everyone will show maturity and self-control by casting this charm.</p><p>The students agreed again and opened the books and Eliott noticed that, for a second, the teacher looked at her and Rowan. After all the trouble the two of them had caused last year, it wouldn't be surprising if he remained a little cautious about the charms he taught them.</p><p>Eliott didn't want to be mad at the professor, but she can't help it. She made a face and decided to ignore any sign of distrust on the part of the teachers for the rest of the day. The class was relatively more difficult, and students had more difficulty making their cauldrons change in size. During the first hour, they practiced the movements of the wand, and then went on to the practical part.</p><p>Eliott took a while, trying as hard as she could to focus on her magic and not the students' whispers, but her concern for Ben was increasing and she couldn't stop thinking about how he would have no trouble doing the task. At the end of the class, she managed to make the cauldron grow a little, but it was still smaller than those of her colleagues and Rowan, who was now teaching the other students how to pronounce the spell correctly.</p><p>At least she received five points from Professor Flitwick before leaving class. The next class was more boring. Professor Binns spent two entire hours talking nonstop in his dragged and dead voice, before falling asleep with the students.</p><p>Eliott decided to practice the Engorgio charm during that class and almost laughed when she saw how angry Rowan was. History was her favorite class and she hated the way the ghost teacher made mistake after mistake in his explanation and paid no attention to the students.</p><p>Fortunately the bell rang and the students woke up with a start and ran to the Great Hall. Eliott packed her things and put Naveen in her arms, running to reach Rowan who left the room furious. While listening to Khanna complain and correct the mistakes made by the teacher, the legilimens took a look at the Gryffindor students with whom they shared the class.</p><p>Everyone was too busy to notice her there, and Ben was not among them. She always forgot the faces of her classmates, and now she wished she had tried to memorize the names of his roommates last year. Maybe they knew where Ben was, if he had arrived in the common room last night or if he had just woken up too late.</p><p>She was pulled out of her thoughts by the abrupt arrival of Charlie Weasley, who seemed as concerned as she was. He stopped in front of them, breathing hard.</p><p>- What happened, Charlie? - Rowan asked, patting him on the back.</p><p>- I've been looking for you all over the place. Did you see Ben?</p><p>Eliott and Rowan looked at each other, getting even more worried than before.</p><p>- Jae and I were looking for him all morning. We didn't see him in the common room this morning or at breakfast and he didn't show up in any of our classes. I thought you would know where he was, because I saw that you always go together.</p><p>- Is Ben missing? - whispered Rowan, placing the hand in the mouth. Eliott took her other hand when she felt her nervousness rise. - We didn't see him either. We think he was with you.</p><p>Charlie shook his head. - Jae and I decided that it would be better to talk to one of the teachers, they would be more useful in the search. I was going after our prefect when I saw you. Jae went after Professor McGonagall.</p><p>Rowan released a sigh, nodding. - Yes, it's a good idea. She can find him. Thank you, Charlie. We've been worried all morning.</p><p>- You're welcome. If they didn't find him soon, I'll go after him. If I discover something or find it, I will call you. - he said and walked away, the girls waved and looked at each other with concern.</p><p>Naveen croaked sadly, sinking into the arms of his owner who felt so miserable and lost. She bit her lip and tried to stay calm, but it was not easy with Rowan beside her. She was getting scared and her emotions were overwhelming for the legilimens.</p><p>- Ellie ... Do you think Ben is in danger? - she asked quietly. - Do you remember that he was acting weird yesterday... What if something happened to him?</p><p>Eliott did not know how to answer. Usually it was Rowan or Ben who calmed her down, but now things were different. Several negative emotions consumed her at once and she looked into her best friend's frightened eyes for a second before shaking her hand and trying to look confident.</p><p>- I... I d-don't k-know, Rowan.... B-But... w-we're going a-after him, we're g-going to f-find him. Hm... H-He must not h-have gone f-far. We'll l-look in o-one of his h-diding places after c-class.</p><p>Rowan nodded. - Yes... I'm sure we'll find him ...</p><p>But her voice died and she stated in the table, her head bowed. Eliott felt a twinge in her stomach and looked at Naveen, who just croaked softly and closed his eyes. They were unable to eat much and spent most of the lunch looking at the food.</p><p>Penny was sitting right next to her with some friends, she opened a huge smile when she saw them, but that soon disappeared and was replaced by a worried look.</p><p>- Hey, what's wrong? Did something happen?</p><p>Rowan immediately raised her head when he heard the blonde's voice. - Penny! Did you see Ben around? We didn't see him all morning, and Charlie Weasley said he wasn't in the common room before breakfast.</p><p>- What? Ben is missing?</p><p>Eliott nodded, feeling a twinge of headache. She should have asked for Penny's help soon, she was the most popular girl in school and always knew when something happened.</p><p>- W-We are w-worried... m-mainly b-because of the c-cursed ice. We'll l-look in his h-hiding places a-after class...</p><p>- Charlie and Jae went to tell the teachers, they can help find him. - said Rowan.</p><p>- Well, I'll look for him too. - said Penny. - I can ask the other students if they saw him. I'm sure he must be around. If anyone finds him, I'll call you, okay?</p><p>- Okay... t-thank you v-very much, Penny. - said Eliott, with a small smile. Now more people were after Ben, soon he would be back and things would be back to normal. She wished so hard that he was fine.</p><p>When the bell hit, Eliott and Rowan separated. The Legilimens said goodbye to her friend and went to Herbology, wishing her favorite class would make her less stressed. Professor Sprout greeted everyone with a radiant smile, Jake and Linda Wang were very excited to see her and the three entered a small competition to see who gave the best answers.</p><p>They were the only ones to be able to fill their mandrakes, received twenty points each and then the class ended. Eliott felt a little lighter as she took off her clothes full of dirt, even though she had spent two entire hours listening the annoying screams of the plants.</p><p>Unfortunately, her day was about to get worse. As she headed for the Transfiguration classroom, someone stopped in front of her and she didn't even have to look up to know who it was.</p><p>She can almost feel the mocking smile that Merula Snyde had on her face. She hadn't changed at all. The pale and irritating face, with an even more irritating smile, the frightening violet eyes and the messy hair contribute to her menacing appearance.</p><p>Lamoth felt her anger rising just at the sight of the annoying slytherin. She knew that at one time or another she would have to deal with her, but she hoped it could wait. She had more important things to deal with than her "rival's" childishness.</p><p>- You look worried, Lamoth.</p><p>Eliott rolled her eyes and hugged Naveen to stop him from attacking the girl. - W-What... d-do you w-want, Merula...?</p><p>- I heard some rumors. Your Hufflepuff chatty friend has been spreading the word that your cowardly mudblood friend is missing. What happened to him? I hope he gave up on Hogwarts and left. This is not his place, he should never have entered.</p><p>Eliott ignored the insults, clenching her fists and watching Merula with a watchful eye. There was something wrong, she felt.</p><p>- Hm. D-Do you k-know anything a-about his d-disappearance?</p><p>Naveen croaked louder, Merula backed away, remembering all the times he jumped in her face. But her smile remained there.</p><p>- I know more than you do. I know that sometimes, even when people are missing, they are exactly where they should be.</p><p>- W-What are you t-talking a-about...? - Eliott took a step back.</p><p>- In this school, things happen that you couldn't even dream of understanding. Trying to discover these things will cost you your life ...</p><p>- Hm... If... I-If you're n-not g-going to say a-anything useful... s-stay a-away from m-me. - Lamoth grunted and walked past her, hiding her face with the scarf.</p><p>- Just don't say I didn't warn you.</p><p>Without looking back, Eliott came into the room and looked around, there was no one from the Hufflepuff she could sit with, so she chose an empty chair next to Barnaby Lee. The boy smiled sweetly and greeted her, he was always happy to see her, but now she was too angry to speak and just nodded, allowing him to play with Naveen.</p><p>Professor McGonagall came in a second later, looking as stern and stoic as ever. She exchanged a quick glance with Lamoth and turned to the class, making the girl nervous.</p><p>- Welcome to your first class of the second year. I hope you remember that transfiguration is one of the most complex and dangerous spells that you will learn at Hogwarts. I expect total concentration and attention to detail. But I know that you all are learning and that mistakes will be made.</p><p>She waved her wand and a cauldron rose on the table. But it was not an weird cauldron. It moved and had white hair and cat's tail and ears. And it <em>breathed</em>. Eliott and Barnaby leaned forward, concerned for the poor animal.</p><p>- This unsuccessful attempt to turn a cat into a cauldron is proof of that. Fortunately, there is a magic that can reverse most mistakes. Reparifarge!</p><p>And so the cat returned to normal, he meowed softly and jumped off the table. McGonagall looked at the class and waved her wand, the pages of the books flew to a specific page and everyone started reading.</p><p>The class was not so difficult, the students were still at a very low level to test the spell on the cats, so each received a normal beetle and another one transformed into a button. Professor McGonagall looked more serious than usual, worried about something and Eliott was nervous whenever she passed by her desk. But she never said anything about Ben or the Cursed Vaults, just asking her and Barnaby to stop playing with the cats and study.</p><p>When the last hour ended, neither of them had been able to accomplish the task. Eliott felt too anxious to focus on her magic. Transfiguration was not her favorite subject and she was only able to perform the spells because Ben and Rowan always helped her. But now...</p><p>The bell rang for the last time and the students stood. Eliott waved goodbye to Barnaby and stood by the table, seeing that Professor McGonagall was also waiting for everyone to leave. When they were alone, the woman looked at her and finally allowed her to approach her table.</p><p>- Sit down, Miss Lamoth, please. - She waved to the chair and Eliott obeyed, placing Naveen in her lap. - I think it's important that we talk about your friend, Mr Copper. Mr Weasley and Mr Kim told me that they did not see him return to the common room last night. Did you and Miss Khanna see him yesterday?</p><p>Eliott poked her nails. - Hm ... YgYes, he w-was with u-us... W-We... l-left the party l-late. Hm. B-But... w-we didn't s-see him this m-morning...</p><p>- Did you notice any strange behavior at the end of last year?</p><p>She thought for a moment, the weight of the teacher's gaze seemed to crush her. She thought about how almost normal Ben looked last night. He smiled and laughed and didn't look scared or ... weird.</p><p>- N-No, he w-was n-normal. </p><p>McGonagall stared at her in silence for a while, considering her words. Eliott curled up a little in the chair, knowing it wouldn't be nice if she pulled the scarf over her face. The older witch blew out a breath and put her hands together on the table.</p><p>- The damage caused by your reckless incursion into the room of ice is unknown. - she said in a hoarse and severe voice. - That ice is known to have strange effects on students. Did you find anything in that room? Any leads or warnings about possible threats, other than the room itself?</p><p>Lamoth nudged her hands again. Naveen looked between the two witches, then croaked at his owner, asking her to speak the truth. He knew she had a hard time trusting the teachers, but she was already in too much trouble and lying to the woman in front of them would only make it worse. And she had no choice, Ben could be in danger. She had to trust in Minerva.</p><p>- I understand your reckless search for the Cursed Vaults, given your brother's unfortunate circumstances. - she continued, her gaze softening a little. - But it doesn't just involve you. It may have affected not only Mr Copper, but everyone at Hogwarts. It is essential that you be honest, Miss Lamoth. What did you found?</p><p>Eliott was silent for a while longer, closing her eyes, she could see Ben sitting in the carriage, his eyes glassy. She needed to be honest, for him. To help him. She didn't trust the teachers, no matter how much they tried to help or tried to be nice to her. They could not hide their true intentions from her. </p><p>But just this time, she had to let go of that resentment and be honest. To make sure that Ben would be okay. What could she do to help him? The teachers could help, they knew the castle.</p><p>Naveen croaked again, impatient. She took a deep breath and sat back in her chair. - I ... hm ... I-I f-found a message t-that mentioned an I-Ice Knight a-and Missing Stairs. O-Only that... Hm.</p><p>Minerva looked at her, then nodded and leaned against the chair. Eliott was almost happy to see that she believed her words.</p><p>- I will share this information with the headmaster. Unlike the last time, I hope the ice will stay in that room.</p><p>- L-Last time...? - Eliott repeated, curious. The Professor shook her head, her eyes fixed on the table. Eliott was sure that millions of thoughts were running through her mind, but she couldn't see.</p><p>- This doesn't matter. Go to your common room, tomorrow classes will start very early. The professors and I will look for Mr Cooper, and when we find him, we will call you and Miss Khanna.</p><p>- Hm ... Y-Yes, Ma'am. B-But... Can Rowan and I h-help? We’re t-too w-worried, a-and.. we w-want to make s-sure he’s okay. He's a-akways s-scared of e-everything, I don't w-want him to get h-hurt...</p><p>Minerva agreed, her expression softened a little at the girl's loyalty to her friend.</p><p>- Yes, all help is welcome. You know Mr Cooper better than anyone and you know his hiding places. But if you find him, or any clue about his whereabouts, tell one of the teachers or perfects. You can go now.</p><p>Eliott bowed and left the room with Naveen. The amphibian croaked happily at her, showing pride. She smiled at him, feeling a little guilty for always lying, and then went after Rowan. The two met in the corridor that led to the Artifacts Room, one of Ben's favorite places.</p><p>Sometimes, when the castle was too noisy, the three would go to the closet to do their homework and talk. He liked to organize and clean the chests and things he found, and sometimes asked Eliott and Rowan for help when he was too scared to touch anything.</p><p>Rowan chattered quickly about how Professor Snape was more grouchy than last year, but that he had given her and Penny fifteen points for their "decent" potion, and Eliott told her about the conversation with McGonagall.</p><p>- So we were right. - she said when they entered the room, locking the door.</p><p>The place was more dusty than before and darker too. Naveen jumped through the chests, helping the girls search. There were many objects there, most of them already worn and destroyed, but some of the chests appeared to be intact. The strangest thing there was for sure the skulls, and nobody was sure if they were fake or not.</p><p>- The cursed ice had left the room. The teachers are getting worried, did you see? Perhaps the curse is getting stronger, it is getting cold even before winter. But what does this have to do with Ben?</p><p>Eliott opened a dusty chest, taking out some old and torn flags. - Hm... I don't k-know how the i-ice could be r-related to his d-disappearance. Hm... Ben w-would never g-go to the s-scret room a-alone. It m-must have b-been ... hm ... s-something e-else ...</p><p>Rowan swallowed. - Was he weird yesterday? It looked like he saw something scary, but after that ... He went back to acting normal. Or he was pretending. Did you notice anything strange about him? Did you feel anything?</p><p>Legilimens thought for a while. There was a closet swinging in one corner of the room, and she decided it was best not to open it.</p><p>- No ... hm ... W-When Ben is s-scared, it's e-easy to notice. He a-always lets his e-emotions show. B-But yesterday... It l-kooked like s-something was m-missing... A-As if for a m-moment, Ben was n-not a-afraid, he seemed too r-relaxed. Hm... I can't e-explain, I never felt a-anything like this. I j-just know he w-was weird. B-But since I didn't feel l-like he w-was hurt or s-scared... I t-thought he was f-fine.</p><p>She hugged herself, lowering her head. She felt terrible, that lump in her throat came up, ten times worse. She knew something was wrong and ignored it. She had told him that they would see each other the next day. And now he was gone. Rowan embraced her side slowly, assuring her that everything was going to be okay.</p><p>The two went back to looking for clues in the room. It was hard work, the chests were heavy, there were many spiders and most of the drawers and cabinets were locked. After a long time, they felt tired and had found nothing but some old scrolls about school subjects.</p><p>- D-Did you f-find a-anything? - asked Eliott, trying to place one of the chests in the corner, where no one could move because she was sure there was a bogart there.</p><p>- No. But I found a fascinating scroll on the behavior of Flesh-Eating Slugs.</p><p>Eliott grinned. - Hm. A-As much as I l-like s-slugs, let's focus on f-finding Ben.</p><p>Naveen croaked loudly, drawing her attention. He jumped in front of the closet and Eliott took him in her arms, lifting him until he could indicate one of the locked doors. Rowan wasted no time and murmured 'Alohomora'. There was a soft click and the door opened, a piece of paper fell to the floor.</p><p>Eliott took it and opened. - D-Do you t-think it's Ben's?</p><p>- He spent a lot of time here, when he wasn't with us or in the closet. It has to be his. - Rowan read the note, but it was in code. Different from what was in the secret room. Both immediately recognized the runes.</p><p>- It's F-Futhark. - said Eliott. - I k-fnew it would be u-useful. I a-aked my f-cather to teach me a l-little, but ... - she blushed. - I d-didn't learn m-much. Hm. C-Can you d-decipher it, Rowan?</p><p>- I think so, but it will take a while. - She said with a smile, adjusting her glasses over her nose. - Come on, cheer up, Ellie. We found a clue, we are closer to finding Ben and your brother.</p><p>Eliott opened a small smile, happy to see that Rowan's animated aura was back. She allowed herself to relax a little, knowing that they were one step closer to finding answers, the vaults, her friend and Jacob.</p><p>Rowan took her hand and led her out of the room, Naveen was croaking softly. She tried to be positive.</p><p>- In the meantime, let's study and train. I know that Ben wouldn't want us to stand still. There are a few days until the tryouts for the Quidditch team. We have to make him proud.</p><p>Eliott smiled sadly, tightening her hands on her skirt as she tried not to cry. But Rowan noticed that and it embraced her by the sides.</p><p>Eliott felt like she was being crushed, she felt sick and didn't touch any food. The familiar feeling of loss consumed her and prevented her from sleeping. It was just like Jacob's disappearance, but different. She hadn't seen her brother for months before he disappeared, and receiving the news left her shaken.</p><p>But Ben was not. He was there at the time and then disappeared without a trace, Eliott had seen him. She wished him good night and said they would see each other the next day. Had she lied?</p><p>She rubbed her eyes and groaned in irritation, feeling the tears come. Had she lied to Ben again? Was he okay? Was she going to find him?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Quidditch friendly</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When the first week of school ended, Eliott felt her head was going to explode. A week had passed and Ben was nowhere to be seen. Teachers and prefects searched for him all over the place for three days, after that, the searches slowed down a little, but they kept an eye out for anything strange that happened.</p><p>And even if no one knew if Ben was okay or not, there were rumors that he was seen wandering the halls but he always disappeared after that. This made Eliott and Rowan even more concerned. The first time they heard these stories, they ran around the castle to look for him, but were unsuccessful. After that Rowan and Chiara started to search, looking for books to try to translate the note they found. </p><p>Eliott felt bad, very bad. She sent a letter to Damian the day after Ben's disappearance, but got no response. Her nightmares were getting worse. And that didn't help her in class, she was barely able to concentrate and was having a lot of problems with the teachers, especially Snape. It seems that he did not care that her best friend was missing, he insisted on taking points from her for the smallest mistakes.</p><p>At least the DADA classes with Professor Quinn were more interesting and Eliott did surprisingly well, especially when it came to some dark creature. </p><p>Merula stayed away from the hufflepuffs all week, contenting herself with making little comments and giving them threatening looks during classes. But whenever she saw her, Eliott felt that she was trying something. And she was often seen walking alongside a redheaded Ravenclaw girl who carried a frog in her arms.</p><p>But Merula's friendship choices were none of her business, so Eliott let it go.</p><p>When the first weekend in September came, Eliott was even more nervous. Orion Amari had placed a notice in the hallway, warning housemates that the tryouts for the Hufflepuff team would take place on the Saturday of the fourth week of September. </p><p>And that day, as part of a training session, there would be a friendly match between the Hufflepuff and the Ravenclaw teams and everyone was talking about it. </p><p>After finishing breakfast, some students stopped to wish luck to Eliott Rowan, including Barnaby, the Wang twins, Andre and Charlie. Eliott thanked everyone with a nod, unable to produce words. She knew she shouldn't be so nervous, she had trained all summer with her father, she was ready and she still had a long time before the official test.</p><p>She repeated this to herself as she left the castle, carrying her Comet 260 in one arm and Naveen in the other. She was proud of her new broom, as she knew it was one of the best today, but she was getting nervous about all the looks she was getting.</p><p>Some students looked at her in awe and pointed, then smiled and gave her good luck. But some made faces and murmured. And she was sure it was about her family's money. If the broom was not a very valuable gift from her father, she would have used one of Madam Hooch's spare brooms. And seeing Rowan walk with her old Shooting Star made her feel even worse.</p><p>But Rowan had not noticed all the attention they received, as she was too busy reciting a list of spells in a low voice to bring good luck. Tonks walked beside them, trying to give them confidence.</p><p>- Come on, sis, there's no reason you are so nervous, you told me you trained a lot. And it's just a friendly, a training session before the real test. You will do well.</p><p>Rowan hid the face in the hands. - Tonks, you don't understand! This is very different, this is the real team. Orion Amari will be watching us all the time, and there are so many other students who will be there, looking at us. Looking at us!</p><p>- A-And... w-we will have to p-play... w-with the o-other p-players. - murmured Eliott. - A-And they w-will... l-look at u-us ...</p><p>- I only played Quidditch with my brothers, on the farm. But that is not enough.</p><p>Tonks snorted irritably and stood in front of them, hands on her waists.</p><p>- Stop whining! You trained hard all summer for that moment. You had the help of Maya and Mr Lamoth, two of the best players in Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Last year, you faced adult and bloodthirsty werewolves, faced Merula, survived the devil's snare twice and ventured into a room filled with evil ice. This is a piece of cake compared to all this.</p><p>Eliott and Rowan looked at each other nervously, then looked at Tonks' proud and confident smile. They opened small smiles, a little more confident. Naveen croaked proudly at them, jumping into his owner's arms.</p><p>- M-Maybe you're right ... - murmured Rowan. The metamorphmagus wrapped her arms around their shoulders.</p><p>- I always am. - She laughed and took them to the training ground, where some tables were full of paints, brushes, ornaments and flags. Some students around took some pots and helped their colleagues to paint their faces. - Look, everybody's ready. Let's paint our faces to show our school spirit.</p><p>- T-Thank you f-for your s-support, Tonks... - Eliott murmured. After all the stress of the week, the lively aura of the students and their friend was very relaxing and made her feel much better.</p><p>Rowan helped Tonks draw black and yellow stripes on her cheeks, so they went to the Quidditch Stadium. Tonks picked up Naveen and went to look for Chiara and Penny in the stands while the other hufflepuffs went to the tents.</p><p>The girls' tent was almost full, students of all ages were scattered around the place, putting on their training uniforms and protection, polishing their brooms or talking. Eliott and Rowan started to change and nobody spoke to them.</p><p>Eliott sat on one of the benches, put on her wraps, tied her hair in a braid and took a few deep breaths. She stayed a few minutes, trying to focus on her own thoughts. Suddenly Rowan started to nudge her and point to the side, at a girl using the closet next to hers.

She was the same height as them, with pale skin, green eyes and freckles all over her face. Last year she wore her brown hair in a braid, now it was shorter and the ends were painted blue. That was the famous Skye Parkin.</p><p>Everything about her was "cool" and Lamoth couldn't help but smile and be super anxious. She had already seen Skye several times at school, as she drew a lot of attention, but they never spoke. Except once, when the popular girl praised her for taking on Merula and the Greyback group. Eliott had been so shocked and embarrassed that she just stammered meaningless words in responses.</p><p>Everyone in the Parkin family are Quidditch players, and her father, Ethan Parkin, is a legend. He became known when he was studying at Hogwarts because of his "historic victory" against Gryffindor. The Parkins founded the Wigtown Wanderers team in Scotland. Which happened to be one of Eliott's favorite teams.</p><p>And now the thought of playing alongside Skye made her anxious. And scared. What if she made a mistake and ended up embarrassing herself in front of her? The thought of it made her sick. Her thoughts were cut off by the loud knocking of Skye's closet. She finished tying her short hair in a simple braid and went to the other side of the tent and Rowan can let out a low squeak of excitement.</p><p>The conversation suddenly stopped and a tall girl entered. She was one of the team's beater, Evelyn Wright. They all looked at her in awe. She had slightly tanned skin, strong arms from training, a pretty, serious face, curly blond hair tied in a bun, brown eyes hard and firm.</p><p>- Good morning. The friendly is about to start. But first, the captain will give a warning to all newbies.</p><p>She left, going to the tent next tent, where all the players meetings took place. There was a black board with some maneuvers drawn, where she leaned with arms crossed. The other girls scattered around the tent and a group of boys entered. Then Orion Amari appeared, accompanied by another older girl who stood beside him and Evelyn.</p><p>The girl was the other beater, Cassandra Bean. She seemed to be more friendly and shy than Evelyn, a little shorter, but just as strong and athletic. She had very fair skin, black hair cut over her shoulders and a straight bang, her brown eyes had a cheerful glow and she smiled at everyone.</p><p>Orion was a thin, tall boy with tanned skin, brown hair that fell over his shoulders, dreamy brown eyes, a short beard and mustache and, as Tonks once said, an expression too relaxed for a Quidditch captain. Eliott knew that Orion was considered weird by his classmates because of his peaceful, gentle and patient personality. He seemed to be quite mysterious, but calm and wise and Eliott felt a relaxing aura coming from him.</p><p>He smiled and slowly shook his hands and said in a still voice.</p><p>- Good morning mates. We are about to start our first friendly match of the year against the Ravenclaw team. But first, I need to explain a few things. Everyone is aware that the tests for the team will be two weeks from now, but know that it will not be easy to get a chance to be part of the test.</p><p>The newbies exchanged looks. A red-haired girl raised her hand. - "Be part of the test"? What does that mean?</p><p>- It means you have to earn it. - Evelyn replied with a smirk. She nodded to the captain, apologizing for interrupting. He just waved his hand.</p><p>- All of you here dream of being part of our team, but not everyone is ready. I know that everyone here will try their best and train hard to show their worth, but not everyone will have the opportunity to experience the test. - again, the students exchanged confused looks. - During all our training and friendlies, I will assess your skills. Those I find talented and determined will be chosen to be part of the tests. And if they pass, they will be part of the team.</p><p>He smiled again, but half the room was nervous. Rowan looked worriedly at Eliott and she nodded. It was a double test. They needed to try harder now. This discovery echoed in the tent for a few seconds until Orion spoke again.</p><p>- Now we will go to the friendly. Don't let your worries confuse your senses, stay focused on the game and try hard. Come on.</p><p>He walked away, Evelyn and Bean behind. And then the newbies followed them. The Quidditch Stadium was full of students, mainly on the banks of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Evelyn and Orion divided the students and chose those who would play. There would be three games, and each newcomer would have a chance to play in the position they chose. Meanwhile, Orion was going to fly over the field, to make sure everything went well and to evaluate the newbies.</p><p>Eliott felt her hands sweating as she and Rowan were placed in the third group. Orion got a good look at her when he heard that she wanted to be in the chaser position. He made no comment or mocked, just smiled and walked away.</p><p>But he seemed happier to see that Rowan wished to be a seeker. Eliott blushed and agreed with the captain's thought, Rowan was perfect for the position. Both were small and thin, and fast. However, while these characteristics favored Rowan, they were only a problem for Eliott.</p><p>The first match started and the stadium was filled with cheers of encouragement as the commentator, Murphy McNully, announced the teams. Eliott sat on one of the benches, watching all the players closely. They were very fast and played very aggressively, especially those of Ravenclaw. Orion and the scouts glided across the field, as did Mason Holt, the Ravenclaw captain.</p><p>Eliott watched in silence as Mallory Mccartney, one of Ravenclaw's chaser, flew over the field, hurling the sips aggressively at the goals, making maneuvers with impressive ease and elegance.</p><p>- She's really good, right? - Rowan shouted above the crowd. Eliott frowned and did not answer. - Come on, Eliott. I know you don't like her, but you can't deny that she has talent.</p><p>Eliott frowned even more, still resentful of the things that had happened last year.</p><p>- If we go after the Cursed Vaults, we will need help ... - Khanna said thoughtfully, drawing her friend's attention. - I know we have Damian's help, but he doesn't know much about the Vaults. Mallory does. She was friends with your brother, right? She must know more and can be very useful, if we could convince her to help us.</p><p>- W-What... do you m-mean? - the legilimens narrowed her eyes.</p><p>- I mean it would be nice if you tried to get along with Mallory, Ellie. We need her help to find the vaults and Ben.</p><p>She was silent after that and Eliott was thoughtful. It was not the first time she had heard this, Damian had also insisted that she try to speak to Mallory. But it was simply impossible for them to work together. Eliott didn't blame Mallory for anything, but he didn't like being around her. Her presence reminded Eliott of why she is trying to close the Vaults. And Mallory seemed to hate Jacob.</p><p>The thought ran through her mind for a while and when Eliott came back to reality, the second game was over. That is, it was her and Rowan's turn to play. The two took a deep breath and climbed on the broomsticks, joining the team in the center of the field. Up there, it was possible to see Chiara, Tonks, Penny, Charlie, Barnaby, Jake and Linda sheering for them on the Hufflepuff bench.</p><p>Mason released the Snitch and Rowan tried to keep her eyes on the golden speck. Then the bludgers were released. Eliott barely had time to process what had happened, all the players moved forward, the chasers reached out to grab the quaffle in the air and then walked away. Rowan disappeared next to the seeker and Eliott had to hunt the quaffle.</p><p>Being in the middle of the game, with all the players flying at high speed everywhere and with the balls being thrown from hand to hand, it was very scary. She could hear the wind passing through her ears, along with the shouting of the other students. And there were so many thoughts together. She felt lost.</p><p>The training with her father was difficult, Petrus always threw the balls very hard and tried everything to knock her off the broom. But he was her father, and she knew he would never hurt her. But the players on the enemy team didn't care, they did everything they could to take her down. The rumors about the Ravenclaw being the scariest and most dangerous team were true.</p><p>Whenever the sips were thrown at her, Eliott felt the adrenaline rush through her body. With her Comet 260, she was one of the fastest, but that didn't help her. She needed to be strong too, as the players crashed into her when they reached her and she had to throw the quaffle to her teammates and through the hoops with precision.</p><p>Dodge the enemies, dodge the Bludgers, keep an eye on the Quaffle, pass the Quaffle to the other chasers and be on the lookout for when they play the Quaffle. It was simple, she thought and repeated it to herself throughout the game, which seemed to last for hours.</p><p>After scoring a second winning goal, Eliott was already tired. McNully had just announced that Hufflepuff had 80 points and Ravenclaw 90, and that made her even more nervous. She had not seen Rowan anywhere, and wished she could be safe and be able to catch the snitch soon.</p><p>- Caution! - she heard Rowan's hysterical voice somewhere, alerting her.</p><p>Eliott looked up, seeing that a Bludger was coming her way. Unlike what she imagined, it looked like it was coming too fast, but at the same time, everything was going in slow motion. She was aware of the danger, aware that she should dodge, but she didn't seem to have time for that, even though the Bludger was almost two meters away. Before she finished processing the whole event, someone in black and yellow robes stopped in front of her.</p><p>Skye Parkin was there, she hit the bludger away from the legilimens, and then flew away, without looking back. Eliott saw everything return to normal and remembered that she was still in the game. She followed her teammate, looking for the quaffle in the middle of the game.</p><p>The third chaser had grabbed the quaffle and was flying towards the goal, Skye and Eliott beside him, the Ravenclaw chasers coming over the top. He raised his arm to score but was stopped by Mason's whistle. The Ravenclaw crowds increased, and McNully could be heard wailing in the cabin.</p><p>- The Ravenclaw Seeker captures the Snitch. It's the end of the game!</p><p>It was everything Eliott heard, all the players stopped. She saw Skye punch the air in anger and walk away. She turned back, looking for Rowan and found her leaving the field, her head bowed.</p><p>- Rowan, a-are you o-okay? - she asked, breathing quickly, when she got off the broom. Khanna immediately jumped on top of her, hugging her tightly.</p><p>- I thought you got hurt! I was worried! - She walked away and held Eliott's sweaty face in her hands. - Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't even pay attention, so much happened at the same time.</p><p>- Hm. I'm f-fine... n-no i-injuries. Hm... I r-really thought I was g-going... t-to lose my h-head ... - she murmured, regretting soon after seeing Rowan's expression. - I'm fine. S-Skye came j-just in t-time.. a-and hit t-the bludger.</p><p>- Thanks to Merlin! - they heard Penny's shrill voice. The blonde came running towards them, with Tonks and Chiara close behind. - Eliott, are you okay?</p><p>- Yes... Skye s-saved me. - she replied again, Chiara examined her and then hugged her tightly. - D-Did you s-see who t-threw the B-Bludger...?</p><p>- It was Erika Rath. Ravenclaw's most unforgiving player.  - Tonks replied with a grimace, her hair turning very dark red, as well as her cheeks. - She has a reputation for hitting all the bludgers with a lot of violence. And now, she almost hit you. What an idiot!</p><p>Eliott scratched the back of her neck. - D-Don't be l-like t-that, I'm f-fine.... Y-You know t-that... Q-Quidditch g-games can b-be quite ... I-Intense ...</p><p>Chiara shot her a serious look, then turned to Rowan who was looking at the floor. - What happened, Rowan?</p><p>- The Ravenclaw team won the game. I was so distracted by the Bludger that I lost the snitch. Then, the other seeker caught it.</p><p>Chiara and Penny put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Eliott blushed, seeing how disappointed they were at the outcome of the game. She mentally slapped herself, scolding herself for not paying attention. She should be faster, her father had said several times to pay attention, not only in the game but also in the surroundings. It was her first game with her classmates and she had already screwed up.</p><p>- Hm ... I'm s-sorry. H-Having to s-save me c-cost the v-victory of our h-house ...</p><p>Rowan raised her head. - It is much better to lose the match than our friend. I'm glad that you're okay. You are more important.</p><p>- I don't k-know if o-our team a-agrees... T-They s-seem to be q-quite a-angry.</p><p>Rowan looked at his teammates. Most of them were very angry and some were already arguing with the Ravenclaw team.</p><p>- Well, it's normal. But it is just a training game for new participants. Nothing much. I am happy that you are well. Come on, the team is going to change clothes.</p><p>- See you later. - said Tonks and Chiara.</p><p>They left the field with Penny and Eliott and Rowan returned to the tent. Inside, the girls changed clothes and grunted, complaining about the rival house with their colleagues. Fortunately, neither of them released any unnecessary comments or angry looks towards Eliott and Rowan.</p><p>Evelyn Wright went to them, looking less threatening and more concerned. - Hey, Lamoth, are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?</p><p>Eliott blushed, being taken by surprise by the veteran. She had to lean her neck back to look her in the eye. - Hm ... N-No ... I'm f-fine. Hm. Skye ... Skye s-saved m-me ...</p><p>- Oh, good. I thought you had a serious accident. Sorry for not paying attention, I was busy deflecting a bludger from the keeper.</p><p>- Hm ... N-No. Hm. It's o-okay ...</p><p>- It was Rath who threw the Bludger, right? - asked Rowan.</p><p>Evelyn confirmed, her scowl returning.</p><p>- Yes, Orion went to talk to her and Holt. She said she didn't see you there. So it was a clean move. She said she just "has no idea how strong she is". - Evelyn scoffed and crossed her arms. - What an idiot! It seems that I will believe her. Glad that Parkin saved you, if you had been hit, you would be seriously hurt.</p><p>She gave the legilimens a friendly slap on the shoulder, but it was too strong and the girl almost fell. - But, next time, pay attention to the game. Even though Bean and I are in the field, we can't always protect you. Understood?</p><p>Eliott blushed even more and agreed, Rowan did the same when Evelyn looked at her. She was satisfied and left the tent.</p><p>- Hey, Ellie. - Rowan called. Eliott finished braiding and looked at where she was pointing. - Parkin is over there. Shall we talk to her? Don't you want to thank?</p><p>Eliott widened her eyes at her.friend and blushed deeply. How could she? After what happened, he was sure that Skye would never want to talk to her. She looked super irritated and barely paid attention to what was going on in the tent.</p><p>She tried to run away, taking the bag and turning around, but Rowan grabbed her by the shoulders and took her to her classmate.</p><p>- Hey, Skye. - she said, beaming. - The Scottish girl turned and looked at them, raising an eyebrow at Lamoth's shrunken form. - We are Rowan Khanna and Eliott Lamoth. We are here to thank you.</p><p>- Thank me for what?</p><p>- Yu saved Eliott from that bludger. If it weren't for you, she ... Well ... Thanks for saving my friend. - Rowan smiled and looked at Eliott who shook her head in the direction of Parkin. - She's saying thank you.</p><p>- Ah, was it you? Sorry, I didn't even see you. - Skye scratched her head. - I had to run back to the game.</p><p>Eliott raised her head. - Hm ... W-Well, t-thank you a-and... I'm s-sorry.  Hm ... H-Having to s-save me... cost o-our victory ...</p><p>- Actually, it was my fault. When I saw that Eliott was going to be hit, I got distracted and the other seeker picked up the snitch.</p><p>Skye shrugged. - It's all right. I could never let someone get hit by a bludger like that. I know how it hurts.</p><p>- And it was a training match, so we shouldn't worry, right?</p><p>- Tell that to my father. Training or not, the Parkins play to win. Ever.</p><p>Eliot saw her roll her eyes, feeling that something was wrong. But Rowan didn't notice that and chuckled, not sure if it was a joke or not.</p><p>- I don't know if you're kidding ...</p><p>- I never joke about Quidditch. - she answered seriously.</p><p>Rowan could not understand Skye and the other girl also seemed lost. None of the three knew how to interact.</p><p>She scratched her arm and tried to look nice. - Well, nice to meet you and I hope you get the tryouts.</p><p>- Thanks. I hope so too, but ... I don't know, maybe I won't even go in.</p><p>- Why? - the two asked together. Parkin turned slightly red. She looked around, making sure there was no one else in the tent.</p><p>- Low grades. Last year, I had a little difficulty with some subjects, you know? And this year, if I join the team, I will have to study even more. It will be very difficult and I don't even know how to start ... But I need to join the team.</p><p>Eliott saw her friend make a confused face, she was probably wondering how Skye considered the team more important than her studies. But the legilimens understood how. The Parkin family was famous in Quidditch, so they had a tradition of always being part of the Quidditch teams in their homes at school.</p><p>Skye looked down, which was strange because normally she had a confident and proud aura, in a good way. So, seeing her with her head down really bothered her. She was probably under a lot of pressure now and Eliott understood how scary it was.</p><p>As if a light bulb went on in her head, she nudged Rowan and then waved towards Skye with a smile on her face. Rowan understood and her face lit up.</p><p>- If you are having difficulty studying, we can help you. - she said and Skye was surprised. - You know, Eliott and I used to help other students with Charms and other subjects, so if you want, we can help you too.</p><p>- For real? But ... There are many subjects and ... I don't want to bother you. - she turned red and Rowan waved her hand.</p><p>- We have plenty of time. And in addition to being our colleague, you saved Eliott. It's a way of thanking you.</p><p>Skye was silent, looking at the two in shock. She thought for a while, then broke into a huge smile and punched Rowan lightly in the shoulder.</p><p>- Thanks. It means a lot. The other students told me that you are one of the best in our year, so I appreciate your help.</p><p>Rowan and Eliott smiled. The three of them picked up brooms and bags and left the tent side by side, talking about their favorite teams as they climbed the hill back to school.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The famous Skye Parkin</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As promised, Eliott and Rowan met Skye in the Great Hall the next day for their first study section. Both were excited, not only because they were going to be close to one of the most popular girls, but also because teaching was something they liked to do and were good at it. And it kept them busy. </p><p>Skye also looked excited. Not with the idea of studying, she was the kind of girl who would rather be riding a broom, looking for adventures, than being trapped in a room full of books that she barely understood. But as her colleagues had offered her help, she decided not to complain and gladly accepted. And as long as she was able to join the team, she accepted anything.</p><p>After breakfast, she took the girls out of school, getting confused looks from them. Rowan seemed to be the most annoyed, since she was the "nerd" of the group, and she was even more nervous when the three sat in the stands of the stadium.</p><p>Skye threw herself into the seats, relaxing while Rowan arranged her books. Eliott admired the view with Naveen for a few minutes.</p><p>- Do you always study here, Skye?</p><p>Parkin waved. She was lying down, her eyes closed and a peaceful smile on her freckled face. - I find it quieter than the library. I keep saying that to Pince. And it always makes her angry.</p><p>Eliott giggled and Rowan tried to put her discomfort aside. She couldn't understand her colleague's mind. - At least we don't have Tonks here. She makes a noise even when she turns the pages.</p><p>- So, how does this tutoring work? - Skye threw her legs down and sat down.</p><p>- Y-You... n-never had a... t-tutoring c-class? - the legilimens asked.</p><p>- That explains my low grades. - she shrugged.</p><p>Rowan took a deep breath and opened a smile, taking the books. - All right. So .... You brought your book, this is a start. Tell me what content you have the most difficulty with.</p><p>- Herbology, Potions, History of Magic, Charms... Can we start with Charms, please? - Rowan waved and Skye took the book from the bag, she opened it and started pulling the pages, pulling them out. - Well, I need to review the content of page forty-three and ...</p><p>- Skye, what are you doing ?! - Rowan shouted in horror, her face turning red. Eliott looked scared at the two and walked away a little, seeing that Skye had just committed a terrible crime in front of the greatest book lover in the world. Unfortunately, she hadn't noticed it.</p><p>- I'm just... highlighting the important pages ....</p><p>- This is not done with a book! My Merlin! - The Indian screamed indignantly, hugging her own books with affection. Skye remained confused.</p><p>Eliott held up her hands. - Hm. C-Calm d-down, Rowan... S-Sorry, Skye... Hm. B-Books are v-very i-important to Rowan.</p><p>The girl blinked, looking a little startled at the two. - Hm. Sorry  It just seems that way faster. I can cast the Repairing Charm later...</p><p>- Do you always study like that...? - Asked Rowan.</p><p>- Only when I use books. You may think it is wrong, but this is your problem, not mine. - Skye said, a little rough. - My family has always been on the road because of Quidditch. You learned.  B.  to travel without weight, taking only what is necessary.</p><p>- But if the wind hits ... - began Rowan, but it was too late. A strong wind hit that very moment and the torn pages flew away.</p><p>The three of them stood up immediately and started to jump, trying to grab as many pages as possible. Naveen was croaking, he jumped up and sat on top of the recovered pages, keeping them in place and Rowan, motivated by her love of books, was faster than anyone.</p><p>She deftly grabbed the pages in the air and the Lucas close, her eyes darted from side to side as she searched each page until they were all safe inside the book. Eliott and Skye looked at her impressed, each with only two pages in their hands, while Rowan had a lot in her arms.</p><p>- Khanna ... - Skye said, eyes wide. - Do you play any other sport? Have you ever played muggle football?</p><p>Rowan looked confused, still irritated by her careless attitude. She almost regretted offering to help her. - No..But I played Quidditch with my siblings. Why ?</p><p>- You were very quick. You took all the pages alone. - she murmured, her eyes fixed on the floor. Eliott saw the gears at work in her  mind and tried to get her attention.</p><p>- Skye... Hm... W-We need t-to s-study...</p><p>- You have precision. - Skye said with an admired smile for Rowan that every second she was losing patience. - You knew exactly how to move to get the pages ... You didn't even lose your breath.</p><p>- Skye, f-focus...</p><p>- Put that aside for a second. I just thought of something! - She said, more excited than ever. Eliott took Rowan's shoulder and asked with a look that she be calm. - Khanna, I think you have a talent for being a Seeker.</p><p>Silence. Rowan did not answer. She just looked at Skye with a serious face, eyes piercing her. Eliott wanted Skye to take things more seriously, but she didn't want her best friend to lose her temper. She hated to see the dark aura that covered the three of them at that moment. Even Naveen had already lost patience with the new girl.</p><p>- You two want to do the tryouts, right? - Parkin asked, and without waiting for an answer, she took the bag and started out of the stands. - Come with me to the tents.</p><p>And she left. Eliott bit her lip and held Rowan's hand. The Indian blew out a tired breath, she was about to regret her decision. The three entered the locker room and Skye immediately opened their lockers, looking in awe at the Comet 260 and somewhat disappointed at the Shooting Star.</p><p>- Are these brooms yours? - she touched the Shooting Star. Eliott nodded her head. - This broom is so old that it should be in a museum. - She laughed and turned around, seeing that neither of them was happy, but very angry. She blushed and closed the closet. - Sorry, it's something important to you. I'm sorry...</p><p>Rowan sighed. - My family makes brooms. My father made this broom for my older sister, she was part of the Ravenclaw team. When I said I wanted to be a catcher, she gave it to me as a gift.</p><p>- Ah, that's very cool. I still use my dad's, too. - She pointed to the Comet 240 in the next closet. - But I always wanted to have my own broom. Just like professionals. Is it true that your family has already made brooms for famous teams?</p><p>- Yes, sometimes. - Rowan blushed and smiled, a little more cheerful. - My grandma made the brooms for the past generation of Holyhead Harpies, my favorite team. She still brags about that.</p><p>Skye was even more impressed and smiled even bigger. That was enough to improve the atmosphere in the room. They sat on the benches.</p><p>- This is really cool. In my family, playing is not optional. My family have been playing at Hogwarts for generations ... My father pressures me to win the Quidditch Cup. - she wrinkled her nose and kicked the floor. - Every time we talk. The cup this, the cup that. </p><p>Eliott and Rowan exchanged guilty looks, knowing full well how she felt.</p><p>- Listen, when we went hunting those pages, I thought it was just luck. You two are fast, agile and accurate. Khanna grabbed the pages without making a mistake ...</p><p>- My passion for books is greater than anything. - She proudly adjusted her glasses and Eliott laughed.</p><p>- And Lamoth, you are very fast, even if you didn’t have this super cool broom, I’m sure it would still be fast. And it’s even strong. I saw you in flying classes. Madam Hooch told me that you are one of the best students in her class. You two have talent and everything you need to become Quidditch stars.</p><p>- What does that mean? - Rowan narrowed the eyes. Skye sat up on the bench, looking seriously at them.</p><p>- We have similar goals. Getting a test for the team is not going to be easy, but if we train together, we will have a chance. I really want to be part of this team, and I know you do too. With two talented chasers and a talented seeker, we could take our team to victory and win the Quidditch Cup!</p><p>Eliott raised her eyebrows, surprised by the outburst of determination from her. - Wow ... D-Do... d-do y-you t-think?</p><p>Skye nodded, a sparkle in her eyes. - We can train together if you want. I will do anything to teach you everything I know. You two are helping me to study, it's the least I can do.</p><p>Rowan looked at Eliott, red-faced. She adjusted her glasses awkwardly. The legilimens stared at her in silence, feeling the confusion of feelings in her mind. It wasn't every day that a Quidditch star praised her. Usually, they were her siblings who were the stars, at Quidditch, in classes, at home.</p><p>Eliott felt bad, she wondered how many times Rowan felt that way. How many times has she been dazzled. Did she make her feel that way, too, with all this business with the Vaults and her family?</p><p>- Train with the famous Skye Parkin... - Rowan murmured, raising an eyebrow to her. - Do you want us to be your personal Quidditch project?</p><p>- That's right. - Skye said without hesitation.<br/>answer.  </p><p>Rowan looked at Eliott, both already had their answer. They had worked hard all summer, and would do anything to join the team. It was their biggest dream. And with Skye's help, they would be one step closer to it.</p><p>- We accept.</p><p>Skye broke into an even bigger smile and stood up, celebrating out loud and dancing. Eliott laughed at the scene, and laughed even more when Rowan grabbed the girl by the collar and pulled her down, pushing a book in her face.</p><p>- But do not think it will be so easy. In addition to training, you have to study. And I am not going to let you out of here until you have learned something.</p><p>Skye rolled her eyes and fell to the floor. - Oh, man...</p><p>**************</p><p>After so long away, being able to visit the forest again was a great relief for Eliott. With no people around to irritate her, she can relax and be alone with her own thoughts. She was happy to help Hagrid in the garden, she walked with Fang in the field, helped Professor Sprout and the Wangs with the plants, helped students who had difficulty in class and helped Skye to study and train for the team test.</p><p>She also wrote a letter to Damian, told about Ben's strange behavior and disappearance and asked if there was any possibility that the cursed ice had done something to him. Even though it had not yet been seen by the castle, Eliott could feel the weight of the curse whenever she came close to a teacher and knew that it was only a matter of time before it escaped from the Secret Room.</p><p>When Damian's answer came, she almost pulled it out of the owl's clutches and ran to a broom closet, desperate for some clue as to what might have happened.</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>"Dear Eliott,</strong>
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</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>I'm sorry to hear this news, I'm also very concerned. I'm sorry that I can't do anything to help you with Ben. You had asked me if the ice could have done something to him, but I don't think so. I don't know how the Ice Vault works, when I arrived at Hogwarts it had already been closed.</strong>
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</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>But from what the students told me, it does nothing but spread. I know this can seem scary and it won't help at all, just scare you, but I ask you to be very careful. The ice spreads slowly at first, but over time it gets stronger and starts to move faster and anyone who comes in contact with it is swallowed.</strong>
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</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>I don't know what could have made Ben disappear, but I hope he is fine. U know you’ll find him, I’m sure. But I ask that you do not worry so much about it, look for your friend, but take care of yourself and Rowan. You both need to be strong to face the Vaults, and I know Ben would want you to be safe and healthy.</strong>
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</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>I know you don't get along with Mallory, but I ask that you go and talk to her. She knows more and can help, she can help you destroy the first Vault. Try to convince her to help, because I can't do much. I am really sorry.</strong>
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</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>Damian. "</strong>
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</p><p>After reading it, Eliott crumpled the letter. It didn't help at all. If she wanted to know more, she would have to speak to Mallory. But how could she do that? The Ravenclaw hated her, and she hated Jacob, the two of them were barely able to stay in the same room together.</p><p>She opened the letter again, read it again and took a deep breath. Ben wanted her to be well, to take care of herself and stay healthy, to focus on classes and not overburden herself. He knew it was more difficult to deal with her legilimency when she was tired. He always knew.</p><p>Feeling heavy and guilty, Eliott did what Ben and Damian would want.</p><p>The study sessions with Skye took place every day, after dinner and little by little, Parkin was improving in classes. She also started hanging out with Eliott and Rowan for the classes they shared and sometimes sat next to them for lunch. Which earned them a certain positive reputation.</p><p>Whenever the three were seen walking together, the students stopped to look at them in awe. The smartest student, the famous Parkin and the girl who faced Grayback and Merula? Gossip ran and soon they found themselves in the center of the spotlight again.</p><p>Eliott wouldn't admit it, but she loved seeing Merula's shocked face when she saw the three of them together. Hufflepuff and Slytherin had just left an Herbology class and Snyde thought it was the perfect time to make her unpleasant comments.</p><p>And when she saw the scene, Skye promptly sided with Eliott and Rowan and did not hesitate to send Merula to get screwed. The Slytherin's mouth formed a perfect "o" and she blushed with rage when the three of them walked away and the rest of the class started laughing.</p><p>Rowan laughed for long minutes, remembering the iconic moment for anyone who wanted to hear. When they finished putting on their Quidditch clothes, all the girls went to the training ground laughing and laughing.</p><p>- Okay, okay, let's put that girl aside. - Said Skye. - Now we need to focus on what is really important. Let's start our training.</p><p>- What did you plan for us, Skye? - Rowan asked, excited. The Scottish girl just smiled and kept walking, and that made Eliott a little nervous.</p><p>She was sure that Skye was an intense person. She could see it in her eyes and the way she behaved. At first she was more quiet and calm, but over time, she became more comfortable with the legilimens and Rowan and her true personality emerged.</p><p>When they weren't talking about classes, they were talking about Quidditch and just that. It seemed that she lived only for the sport and didn't care about anything else. Eliott admired her determination and confidence, but sometimes it scared her. Skye's biggest dream was to get the Quidditch Cup. It was understandable, she lived her whole life listening to her father tell her that it was her duty.</p><p>And she would do anything to make that dream come true.</p><p>While the other girls stayed together on one side of the training ground, Skye took Eliott and Rowan to the far side.</p><p>The three stayed further away from the other girls, going near the forbidden forest, where some training dolls had been lined up. Eliott remembered training with Jane and put Naveen in a far corner, because she knew things would get dangerous.</p><p>- As you may know, anything can happen in a Quidditch game, no wonder there are more than 100 known fouls. So you need to be ready for anything, and your biggest concern is the bludgers.</p><p>Skye withdrew a heavy wooden box that shook violently at her feet. Eliott and Rowan were startled. Naveen croaked angrily, knowing they were going to do something dangerous again.</p><p>- Today you are going to dodge bludgers! Even though the beaters are on the pitch, they may not always be there for us to protect. They need to keep an eye on our keeper and seeker. In this case, you Khanna. Without yiu game is not over. And without the keeper, our goals are exposed for the other team to score points. - She bent down and started to release the locks on the box. - If at any time the two are hit, who will protect us? And if a crazy bludger goes towards you, how are you going to swerve if you're not fast enough ?!</p><p>She opened the box suddenly. Three bludgers flew off aggressively, breaking apart and flying in all directions. Eliott and Rowan covered their heads with their hands, Skye was too calm and just got on the broom.</p><p>- You could have warned us earlier! - Rowan shouted and climbed on the broom.</p><p>- A Bludger will not warn before attacking!</p><p>Eliott whimpered and climbed on the broom, sliding away from one of the bludgers. - Hm... I-If the V-Vaults d-don't k-kill us.... o-our trainer w-will ...</p><p>Eliott started to fly in a zigzag pattern, running away from the bludgers that came too close. The bludgers came from all directions and were enchanted to chase only the three hufflepuffs. They flew in circles in the small space they had chosen to train and as they had no beater around to protect them, the three were trapped.</p><p>Eliott saw Naveen hide in her bag. Skye was excited and dodged the balls with ease, doing somersaults and doing dangerous maneuvers while she laughed and screamed with emotion. But Rowan was irritated. She screamed and muttered over and over, holding the broom handle tightly and her glasses over her face. Her dissatisfaction with Skye's methods was very clear.</p><p>Eliott did not have so many problems. She fell a few times and hurt herself a lot when the Bludgers passed too close to her arm, but she was better than Rowan. It was similar to training with Petrus, but more dangerous and with more balls. Her father had told her the same thing that Skye had said and one day, performed a training similar to this. He chased his daughter across the field, hurling quaffles at her and bewitching others to suddenly attack her.</p><p>The bludgers had a life of their own and attacked with violence, but Eliott dodged almost all of them, making basic maneuvers that he had learned from Petrus and Madam Hooch. She almost liked the training. Petrus always took it easy on her, but Skye was challenging her, she wasn't going to make it easy.</p><p>It has been a long time since training started and Skye decided it was enough. Rowan almost fell to the ground with fatigue. Eliott, sore and sweaty, helped her colleague put the bludgers in the box, bewitching it to float behind them as they returned to the locker room.</p><p>- So, what did you think of your first workout? I'm sure you've never seen anything compared to that. My father made me go through this training several times during the summer. He wanted me to be prepared.</p><p>Rowan looked at her worried. - T-That must have been s-scary ...</p><p>Skye shrugged. - No, it was pretty cool. I love a little excitement. And you, Lamoth? It seemed like you were enjoying it, you dodged all the bludgers without a problem. It was impressive.</p><p>Eliott blushed and smiled. She put the Comet away and started taking off her uniform.</p><p>- Hm... i-it w-was... cool.</p><p>- You almost lost an arm! - Rowan pulled her to the bench, murmuring healing spells that she had learned from Chiara. Eliott thanked her when her arm stopped hurting.</p><p>- Hm... M-My father did... s-something s-similar, b-but he always t-took it easy o-in m-me.... he t-thought I c-couldn't take a-anything too h-heavy. Hm. B-But... I liked your t-training... I guess.</p><p>It made Skye smile even bigger, but this time she was happy and proud. Her eyes lit up and she blushed.</p><p>- Thanks. You are very good, Lamoth. - She thought a little and looked away. - I bet your dad would be proud to know that you overcame his training.</p><p>Eliott laughed, thinking of sending a letter to her father. She heard Naveen croak and saw that he was irritated, the poor amphibian spent the entire training in fear of the owner dying and had been very, very angry to see that she liked it. Nor would Petrus like to know that his daughter was doing dangerous and stupid things.</p><p>She apologized softly and tried to pet him, but the frog moved away and stood next to Rowan, who was currently the most sensible person in the group, but not entirely. He croaked sadly, he wanted Ben to be there to help keep them both safe.</p><p>- But why so many bludgers? - asked Rowan lying on the bench. - Quidditch only has two</p><p>- Heh! You are already learning. - Skye laughed out loud.</p><p>Rowan rolled the eyes. - I could have learned that from a book. At least I don't risk losing my head.</p><p>- Exactly. Books give you knowledge, help you and explain what you should do. But only in practice do you learn how to do it. Training gives you more resistance and improves your reflexes.</p><p>She closed the closet and sat down next to Rowan to pack the bag.</p><p>- You two are good and hardworking. But that is not enough. We will repeat this test tomorrow as well. And if you don't get better, the next day and the next. Until I'm satisfied.</p><p>Eliott sat on the other side of Rowan and smoothed her hair. Khanna looked at her with a sad expression, then looked back at Skye.</p><p>- Aren't we good enough yet?</p><p>- You still very slow. If you want the spot of chaser and keeper, you need to be faster. Khanna, in addition to always being alert, will have to hunt for the Snitch while the rival Seeker chases you too. Have you seen the speed of that little thing? And Lamoth, our job is to take the quaffle and score, but we need to do this together with the captain. We need to accompany him and he is very fast.</p><p>- We understand ... - Rowan murmured, a little irritated.</p><p>The other girls went back to the tent and when they saw the three, they greeted them willingly, but they grimaced and covered their noses. Skye raised her arm and grimaced, but she didn't look so uncomfortable. Eliott and Rowan were also used to that. They both helped their parents with the trees and spent a lot of time tinkering with the soil, and spent the whole summer training nonstop for tests.</p><p>Even so, Rowan was grimacing and muttering to herself, unaware that Eliott could hear everything. Skye left the tent without saying anything.</p><p>Eliott looked at her best friend, a little worried, she felt something bad coming. A nuisance. Her head hurt and she also felt herself getting more and more irritated. She already had a lot to worry about and didn't want to have to deal with any more drama.</p><p>So she shook her head and ignored the pain.</p>
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